Nuclear ‘should be on the table’ for net zero
The chief executives of major resource companies and energy users say Australia should have nuclear “on the table” to proceed as an option to cope with rising electricity prices and hit-net zero ambitions.
The chief executives of major resources companies and energy users say Australia should have nuclear “on the table” to proceed as an option to cope with rising electricity prices and hit net zero ambitions.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas told the Energy Nation forum that while his honesty around supporting nuclear had made other Labor politicians uncomfortable, it was essential in achieving net zero.
“I’ve been sort of pretty honest sometimes in a way that’s uncomfortable for some in my side of politics. We don’t achieve net zero globally and the timelines that we want without nuclear energy playing a far bigger role. That’s just the truth of it, which is why I support its expansion,” he said.
“South Australia should benefit from that, particularly our copper aspirations which are actually uniquely related and linked to uranium production because of the nature of the resource up in Olympic Dam and surrounds,” Mr Malinauskas said.
Federal Labor has maintained the moratorium on nuclear energy in Australia introduced by John Howard.
Given rising energy demands, especially from artificial intelligence and data centres, nuclear was clearly something that should be developed in Australia.
The chief executive of major data centre provider NEXTDC’s Craig Scroggie said “everything should be on the table”.
“I look to my customer to give me advice. And today, Microsoft are restarting through Three Mile Island nuclear plant, Amazon was supporting a number of new technologies and Google investing in small modular reactors.
“I think the answer is, over time, anything that we can do to produce more energy and lower cost is the goal. The answer really does come down to Australia which obviously has very significant amounts of water and uranium, and we also have a very significant amount of chlorine and Molten Salt Reactors, but without going through all the science, we have the potential to reduce the unit cost of energy, not by one order of magnitude but two.
“I hope that we start finding ways to have a rational, logical, science-based conversation around how Australia can take advantage of those extraordinary resources,” Mr Scroggie said.
Chevron Australia managing director Balaji Krishnamurthy said “everything should be on the table”.
“I do think especially when you go through energy transition, there is a lot of uncertainty and risk, so the more choices we have on the table, the better off we are. I’m a believer that we can’t take any choices off the table.”
Barack Obama’s energy secretary Ernest Moniz said the government should consider nuclear as a pathway to hitting its net-zero goals by 2050.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout