By Pandu Setiabudi
State-owned electricity company PT PLN is exploring a partnership with Russia’s Rosatom for the development of nuclear power plants (PLTN), but progress remains stalled pending approval from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zainal Arifin, Executive Vice President for Renewable Energy at PLN, confirmed the status of the partnership during the EESA Summit Indonesia 2025 on Tuesday.
“The issue stems from the Foreign Ministry, so we've put the process on hold. The agreement was actually signed during the COVID-19 period, but due to an unofficial note from the ministry, it's been pending ever since,” Zainal said.
According to him, the cooperation plan with Rosatom predates the pandemic. While the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has granted PLN permission to move forward with the partnership, the absence of Foreign Ministry approval has delayed any further progress.
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Zainal added that PLN has conducted an internal evaluation and considers Rosatom a technologically superior partner—especially in the area of small modular reactor (SMR) development.
“We’ve done the evaluation, and Rosatom is a strong candidate. In terms of small modular reactor technology, they’re ahead of the U.S.,” he noted.
He also highlighted the economic potential of the collaboration, describing the cost structure as competitive compared to other baseload and geothermal energy options.
“It’s promising. Pricing could compete with baseload and geothermal power—definitely interesting,” he added.
Earlier, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia announced that Indonesia is targeting nuclear power plant operations between 2030 and 2032. The government is currently working on establishing the necessary regulatory framework to support this timeline.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
