Dutton reveals locations for seven nuclear power plants under Coalition plan

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has unveiled long-awaited details of his pledge to build nuclear reactors in Australia, confirming that two nuclear plants would produce electricity by the middle of next decade and be built with public funding under a government-owned business model.

The Coalition revealed seven nuclear plants would be built at the sites of former coal power plants: Lithgow and the Hunter Valley in NSW, Loy Yang in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Collie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia.

“We know the government has renewables only policy which is not fit for purpose. No other country in the world can keep the lights on 24/7 with the renewables-only policy,” Dutton said at an announcement in Sydney on Wednesday morning.

“Today we announce seven locations that we have looked at in great detail over a long period of time that can host new nuclear sites, and that’ll be part of an energy mix with renewables and significant amounts of gas into the system, particularly in the interim period.”

He said the assets would be owned by the Commonwealth, which would form partnerships with experienced nuclear companies tasked with building and operating them.

But he conceded his policy had not yet been costed. “We will have more to say in relation to the cost in due course, and, as you know, we’ve done this in a step-by-step process. The focus today is on the sites,” Dutton said.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who set a legislated target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030, on Wednesday accused the opposition of formulating a nuclear policy to boost the life of fossil fuels.

“They say they want to pause renewable energy, and that is what this policy is designed to do – to slow or stop renewable energy, to rely on coal for longer as we wait for this nuclear fantasy to come about,” Bowen said.

“The Australian people now have a very clear choice, stick with the plan, or go with this uncosted, unmodeled fantasy that Mr Dutton is proposing today.”

Dutton also acknowledged he would need to convince state premiers to overturn nuclear bans. He said the Commonwealth could apply a national interest test and compulsorily acquire land from states for reactor sites.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced his plan for nuclear energy.Credit: Louise Kennerley

“Somebody famously said: I would not stand between a premier and a bucket of money, and we’ve seen the premiers in different debates before, where they’ve been able to negotiate with the Commonwealth. And we’ll be able to address those issues,” Dutton said, referring to a statement made by former prime minister Paul Keating.

NSW Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday said he would not remove the prohibition on nuclear power production.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan also said her government would not allow nuclear energy to be established in the state and vowed to fight against the Coalition’s proposal to build a power station in the Latrobe Valley.

Dutton said a Coalition government would start by building either small modular reactors, which are not yet in commercial production, or a large-scale reactor. He said the small reactors could be operating by 2035, while the larger would produce electricity by 2037.

The CSIRO has found the first nuclear reactors could not be built until 2040 and would cost up to $16 billion each to build in Australia. CSIRO said construction costs could fall to $8.6 billion but noted the first reactor would likely cost double because of the expense of kick-starting the industry from scratch.

The owners of some of the coal plant sites targeted for nuclear development, including AGL, Origin, EnergyAustralia and Alinta, have previously said they have no plans to develop nuclear energy in Australia.

Prime Minister calls Dutton’s plan a ‘fantasy’

Dutton’s announcement ended months of speculation about the proposed locations and will sharpen the political debate after he reignited the nation’s climate wars by pledging to dump the government’s climate target.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier on Wednesday described the Coalition’s nuclear policy as a “fantasy” that markets would not fund because it is 15 years away.

“This is a recipe for higher energy prices, for less energy security, less job creation. This is economic madness,” he said on ABC Melbourne.

Dutton said last week the Coalition remains committed to net zero emissions by 2050 but would not reveal its interim climate targets until after the federal election, due by May next year.

The opposition leader has criticised the Albanese government’s renewable energy plans – which centre on driving clean energy to 82 per cent of the grid by 2030 – by arguing that they will drive up power bills and destabilise the grid.

On Wednesday, Dutton claimed the federal government’s plans to supercharge renewable energy would cost more than $1 trillion and said nuclear energy would “cost a fraction of that”.

But the renewable energy industry rejected Dutton’s claims about the technology, including his assertions that boosting the share of renewables in the grid would increase power prices and the risk of blackouts.

“Australia has no nuclear power industry, so building new reactors would take at least 20 years and cost six times more,” Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said. “The Coalition’s nuclear policy is a recipe for delay and skyrocketing energy bills.”

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