In order for Australia’s soaring energy bills to be brought back down, politicians need to stop making the nuclear versus renewable energy debate akin to the partisanship of Ford versus Holden Supercars supporters.
That is the opinion of Robert Parker, the founder of Nuclear for Climate Australia.
Parker, also the former president of the Australian Nuclear Association, believes the nation’s power grid can work effectively with all forms of energy as part of the mix.
That includes coal, natural gas, renewables such as wind, solar, and battery power, and nuclear.
This is what a Dutton Liberal government would work towards if it is voted in at the upcoming federal election, according to Parker.
On the other hand, the current Albanese Labor government is pushing ahead with a renewables-only agenda as it strives to reach ‘Net Zero’ in carbon emissions.
“The Coalition’s energy policy is not about a nuclear-only solution,” Parker told The Epoch Times.
“We’ll get the lowest cost in energy, and also reduced emissions. That’s the key to get rid of this polarised debate whether it’s either nuclear or renewables.
“They can both work together, and I think that needs to be expressed because that’s got to head off this [idea] that people just polarise the issue either way.
Nuclear is Safe, and Harmless on Flora and Fauna
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the country’s adoption of renewable energy is the most affordable way to modernise the energy grid.He also said the cost and time to build nuclear energy reactors are rising.
Bowen cited GenCost, the annual collaboration between Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), in its reaffirmation that renewable energy provided a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly future for the country’s energy consumption.
“Renewables remain the cheapest new-build electricity generation in Australia to 2050, both as standalone assets and when also accounting for the required storage, transmission and firming,” Bowen said.
“GenCost finds the first large-scale nuclear couldn’t be expected to produce electricity in Australia any earlier than 2040, with cost estimates from then ranging from $145 to $238/MWh.
“Were small modular nuclear reactors able to be up and running in Australia by 2030, which they aren’t, the cost of their power would be up to $487MWh.”
But Parker has seen first-hand the financial efficiency and carbon-cutting nature of nuclear energy in Korea and Canada, and believes this form of power is essential in Australia’s mix.
“It’s a very sustainable form of energy in terms of its impact on our natural environment, our landscapes, and agricultural lands,” he said.
“It minimises transmission and taking over land, or destroying forests to build wind farms.
“We can have something which has a very low geographic footprint, but also a low materials footprint. That’s because nuclear uses about one-fifth of the non-renewable materials that renewables use.
We Have Cheap, Low-Emissions Power
Parker also pointed to the province of Ontario in Canada, and France, in the way both have embraced nuclear energy.For many years, Canada has been a leader in nuclear research and technology, with about 15 percent of the nation’s electricity coming from nuclear power.
There are 17 reactors in Canada, mostly in Ontario providing 12.7 GWe of power capacity, and Canada has plans to build both new large-scale nuclear capacity and small modular reactors.
“The world has shown that nuclear is the fastest way to get a fleet rollout and decarbonise,” Parker said.
“The examples are in France where they built 58 reactors and 63GWe of power capacity in 22 years.
“We can do what Ontario did in this country. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia could combine to achieve the same sort of rollout over a two-year period.
Electricity Bills to Continue Rising
Parker added the cost associated with Australians going 100 percent renewable for their energy supplies would lead to astronomical costs, with these costs not factored in current estimates by proponents of wind, solar and battery electricity.“At present the average roof has got about 3-5kW of panels. But to get what AEMO requires, which is 84GWe of rooftop solar going in, you’ve got to go two or three times the area of each roof,” he said.
“And you’ve got to go to 100 percent of rooftops in Australia to achieve that kind of rollout.
“And then having done that, the batteries have got to go into the homes to act as storage devices to provide reliable power.
“All of that combined—rooftop solar and batteries—summates to about $40,000 per household.
“And none of that is costed into what Bowen is telling us the renewables rollout will cost.”
But Bowen argues that renewable energy costs are on the decline.
“[GenCost] finds firmed renewables, including transmission and storage costs, provide Australians the cheapest power, at between $80MWh to $122MWh in 2030, when they account for 80 percent of variable generation,” he said.
“It shows the cost of renewable technologies have continued to decline despite a global inflationary environment. Large-scale battery costs decreased 20 percent, and utility solar declined 8 percent. The cost for onshore wind infrastructure is moderating. Having risen 8 percent last year, it’s eased, up just 2 percent.”
