Energy Minister Matt Kean: ‘Exciting things happening on nuclear front’

NSW’s energy minister has said the state is “excited about the opportunities” being afforded by nuclear power as he denied climate policies were leading to the closure of coal-powered plants

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean, whose time in office has been marked by an enthusiasm for carbon-cutting green projects, has given nuclear power his cautious endorsement.

Mr Kean told Sky News Australia’s political editor Andrew Clennell Sunday “yeah I think so” when asked if there could ever be nuclear power deployed in Australia, particularly if so-called small modular reactors or SMRs became commercially viable.

“There’s some exciting things happening on the nuclear front,” Mr Kean said.

Energy Minister Matt Kean has not ruled out nuclear power in NSW.

“We’re not expecting that to be commercially available until the mid-2030s,” Mr Kean said, though he added “we are excited about the opportunities” that could stem from the development of the technology and did not rule out their being adopted in NSW.

Any development of nuclear power in Australia would have to overcome a number of bans and moratoriums, though there has been an increasing political push to explore nuclear as a way to meet emissions targets without jeopardising the economy or the stability of the power grid.

Germany’s Gundremmingen nuclear power plant. Minister Matt Kean has flagged nuclear options as a potential future energy pathway.

Mr Kean also denied that climate policies were the main driver behind the closure of coal fired power stations in NSW.

“In the next 15 years, four of our existing coal fired power stations will come to the end of their lives,” Mr Kean said.

“They’re old pieces of machinery. We need to replace those generators before they close,” he said.

For the moment, he said that until nuclear became an economically viable option, “the best way to replace our coal fired power stations is … with wind, solar, batteries, gas, and pumped hydro.”