Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil a new solar energy plant in Wodonga and TAFE training centre in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales as part of a broader vision to steer coal-reliant regions towards renewable job creation.
The federal and NSW governments will pledge $60 million over five years for the Hunter Net Zero Manufacturing Centre at Newcastle’s TAFE, and another $17 million to fund Australia’s first commercial solar thermal heat plant in Victoria’s Wodonga by 2026.
“Creating jobs, investing in our regions, reducing emissions, and lowering power prices—that’s what we’re delivering,” Albanese stated.
Energy Minister Continues to Press Opposition on Nuclear
The government continued its criticism of the federal opposition’s nuclear ambitions.On the same day, Energy Minister Chris Bowen rejected plans to rely on U.S.-based experts to support their nuclear energy proposal.
The Australian opposition has vowed to build and run seven nuclear power plants across the country as an alternative path to net zero.
Yet Bowen said major Australian research institutions, including the CSIRO, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), and Geoscience Australia, have consistently opposed nuclear energy generation.
“With all due respect, when you consider these bodies and their collective expertise, I will take their analysis over [shadow energy spokesperson] Ted O'Brien’s back-of-an-envelope claims about nuclear energy any day,” Bowen stated.
Bowen pointed to Australia’s abundant renewable resources as the most cost-effective energy solution.
“In Australia, we have the best renewable energy resources in the world, the cheapest form of energy,” he said.
He likened Australia’s adoption of nuclear to snowy countries like Finland or Scandinavia embracing beach surfing.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” the minister said.
According to Bowen, the CSIRO’s GenCost analysis found nuclear energy approximately six times more expensive than renewables when accounting for firming, storage, and transmission costs.
Yet the GenCost report’s methodology—using levelised cost of electricity (LCOE)—have been criticised by former CEO of Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Adrian Peterson, during a parliamentary hearing on Oct. 28, who said it was not accurate or used by commercial entities.
Meanwhile, at the same inquiry, John Harries, secretary of the Australian Nuclear Association, predicts Australia may need up to 100 nuclear reactors by 2050 to meet energy demands, double the current projection.
