Aussies will need to be convinced on nuclear option
Any push to adopt nuclear energy in Australia will fail to win public support unless Australians can be convinced it will supply cheap power, says Ted O’Brien.
Any push to adopt nuclear energy in Australia will fail to win public support unless Australians can be convinced it will supply cheap power, according to opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien.
But Mr O’Brien says the Labor government of Anthony Albanese needs to stop dismissing the option and commission a proper study into its economic viability.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has given Mr O’Brien the job of working up a nuclear energy policy to take to the Liberal Party caucus as it develops its platform for the next federal election.
Part of that work included a national survey that Mr O’Brien says received “thousands” of submissions, with most in support of nuclear power.
But Mr O’Brien concedes that Australians will need to be convinced nuclear power is safe, reliable and – above all – cheap.
“I think we have to tackle the issue of cost openly and honestly, by adopting a very evidence-based approach,” he said.
“People can always point to the cheapest reactor ever on record, or the most expensive. But what counts is our plan in Australia – there’s a reason why we are interested in small modular reactors and other advanced designs.”
Mr O’Brien says only a proper economic study of the options can deliver a verdict on its value to Australia’s energy market, pointing to Japanese modelling that suggests new nuclear reactors would provide cheaper power than solar and wind options.
He told The Australian the analysis of the likely cost of nuclear power should be examined as part of the current and future energy market – examining what nuclear power would do to stabilise the grid and provide baseload power, and looking at its total impact on electricity costs, not just comparing the levellised cost of different types of power generators, and preferring the cheapest.
The 2021 report by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry puts the energy cost for new nuclear plants in Japan at ¥11.5 per kilowatt hour, compared with LNG at ¥10.7/kWh, onshore wind at ¥19.8/kWh and large scale solar installations at ¥12.9/kWh.
“The whole of system approach that Japan uses is similar to that recommended by the OECD and other bodies that have expertise in assessing the economic merits of nuclear energy and other energy sources. In Australia, we have never had a comprehensive whole of system assessment done for nuclear energy.”
Mr O’Brien has previously suggested the Productivity Commission should be given the job of conducting a whole of system review to assess the viability of nuclear power in the Australian grid.
Mr O’Brien said it was easy to point to the worst examples of severe nuclear construction cost blowouts and delays, pointing to the South Korean-led construction of the Barakah nuclear power plant as a counter example, where the fourth reactor came online late in 2022. Initially tipped to cost $US20bn and have its four reactors operational by 2020, its full cost is now estimated at about $US24bn and the plant had its first unit supplying power by 2021.
“We need to take a long-term perspective, as we formulate energy policy. The criteria will be no different for nuclear than it will be for other forms of energy. That is getting prices down, maintaining reliability and while delivering on emission reduction commitments,” he said.