The centre-right Liberal-National Coalition is taking a further step in its push for a nuclear future for Australia as many leading engineers gather in Canberra to discuss nuclear technology with politicians in a two-day forum.
National MP David Gillespie, who is also the chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Nuclear Industry, held a forum at Parliament House on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25 to present the case of nuclear power as a solution for Australia to ensure energy security while embarking on net-zero emissions by 2050.
Speaking to Sky News, the MP said the forum gave engineers a voice as they explained different aspects of nuclear power, including small nuclear reactors, to the press, politicians, and other important players in the energy market.
Gillespie mentioned that a key issue discussed on the forum’s first day was the blowing costs of the Australian government’s net-zero emissions plan using renewable energy.
“One of our economists analysed that achieving the step change by 2050 will cost $1.27 trillion (US$857 billion). And it’s a permanent state of adding more and more renewables to achieve it,” he said.
Gillespie also noted that there was a part of the 2050 plan, which was not mentioned, involving a $250 billion investment in the form of consumers’ rooftop solar panels.
These solar panels will act as a backup in case the system fails.
Nationals Member for Lyne David Gillespie during question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 11, 2020. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
On another issue, Gillespie said the forum would present several reports about the costs of small nuclear reactors, which painted a different picture compared to a report by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
In July, CSIRO released the GenCost22 report, which stated that the capital cost of small modular reactors in 2030 stood at $7,904/kW in the low-case assumption and $16,773/kW in the high-case assumption.
In comparison, the capital cost of large-scale solar panels was estimated at $785/kW and $1,013/kW, respectively.
However, a report by the Energy Policy Institute of Australia indicated that the cost of nuclear power was around $4,500/kW based on updated data from the International Energy Agency, almost a third of the estimated figures in the CSIRO report.
“Our economic analysts have presented today that the GenCost [report] is very misleading and totally inaccurate about the cost of nuclear,” Gillespie said.
“France, UK, Sweden … Korea, everyone across the globe is into nuclear, firing up their mothballed nuclear [plants] because they realise it’s cheap, it’s reliable, and it’s safe.”
Australia’s Nuclear Situation
Currently, nuclear power production is not permitted in Australia under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.Specifically, these laws prohibit the approval, licensing, construction, or operation of nuclear power plants and enrichment facilities in the country.
In addition, states and territories have their own legislation regulating nuclear and radiation-related activities.
It is noteworthy that the ban on nuclear power stands on the fact that Australia has the world’s largest uranium deposits, which account for nearly one-third of the Earth’s proven uranium reserves, and the country is the third largest uranium producer.
Cooling towers of a nuclear power plant in Cofrentes, eastern Spain, on Nov. 17, 2023. Jose Jordan/AFP via Getty Images
As energy prices soared across the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there have been renewed calls for introducing nuclear power into Australia’s energy mix.
In August, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Australia needed an “honest discussion” on nuclear power while criticising the Labor government for being ideological on renewables.
Since then, Dutton has mentioned nuclear power on multiple occasions at the parliament, including in his response to Labor’s budget paper in October.
However, the Opposition leader has not confirmed the Coalition’s stand on nuclear power in the next election.
Prospect of a Nuclear Future in Australia
Gillespie said the process of coming up with a policy on nuclear power was going on and that there was support within Labor and other parties.“I, and other supporters in the National Party and Liberal Party have made their decision, but there is a process,” he said in comments obtained by AAP.
“As each day goes by, I grow confident, but I don’t want to pre-empt the decision.”
Gillespie also believed in the direction of nuclear power in Australia as the country had what it needed in terms of resources and technology.
“We are a nuclear-ready country. We’ve got huge uranium resources. It’s just we choose not to use them,” he said.
“We’ve run three nuclear reactors. We have signatories and committees and part of all the proliferation agreements.”
