Peak bodies call for nuclear in the mix for energy transition
Both the Minerals Council of Australia and Australian Energy Producers want nuclear to be considered as the nation targets net zero goals.
Nuclear must be considered as an energy source to help Australia through a potentially thorny transition, the heads of major mining and energy industries bodies have said, as concern grows over the nation failing to hit ambitious green targets.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned Australia cannot meet its net-zero emissions targets without more robust interventions from government, flagging a “uniquely Australian” revamp of industry policy to encourage an extra $225bn of investment in low-emissions technologies by 2050.
However, both the Minerals Council of Australia and Australian Energy Producers told the The Australian-Melbourne Institute Economic and Social Outlook conference that nuclear should also be considered as part of the long-term energy mix as the power grid gradually moves away from coal.
“I think this is one of the big, bold ideas. And the whole game changed with the introduction of small nuclear reactors. When we look around the world at who was meeting their green targets, the countries that are meeting them are the most diversified and have nuclear energy in the mix,” Minerals Council CEO Tania Constable told the conference.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in September released government costings claiming that Peter Dutton’s proposal to convert coal-fired power sites into nuclear small modular reactors would cost $387bn.
That followed the Coalition touting a “coal-to-nuclear transition” and tapping Australia’s world-leading uranium stocks as centrepieces of the Coalition’s 2025 energy policy to secure long-term baseload power, slash emissions and lower electricity bills.
Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch told the conference that it was also in favour of considering nuclear in the energy mix.
“I think the scale and pace of what we you need to do to get to net zero means we’ve barely scratched the surface,” Ms McCulloch said. “This is an immense change to how we use and produce energy. And we just can’t afford to be taking options off the table and everything needs to be part of that conversation.”
Labor has committed to slashing emissions by 43 per cent and having 82 per cent of renewable electricity in the grid by 2030 – but says nuclear is not a viable option because it is too expensive.
Westinghouse senior vice-president Rita Baranwal – a former assistant secretary at the US Department of Energy – said in October that nuclear power could be a significant contributor to supporting renewables for far less than the $387bn claimed by Labor.
Over $120bn of spending is needed to finance new solar, wind, transmission and energy storage projects by 2030, according to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, but investment is falling short of targets. It estimates a major wind farm needs to be built each month until the end of the decade to hit the ambitious goal.
Two thirds of the traditional coal generators are expected to be retired in the next 10 years, leaving the country scrambling to seek new sources of power.
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