I note Dan said in Wannon we need to ensure Western Victorian manufacturers have a secure supply of energy in the future. Where does Dan believe the nuclear plant should be located?
The Coalition believes we have to move over time from a renewables, gas and coal mix for our future energy, to a renewables, gas and nuclear mix.
The Coalition have announcedseven nuclear power sites, each located at a power station that is either scheduled to close or has closed. Each of these locations offers important technical attributes needed for a zero-emissions nuclear plant, including cooling water capacity and transmission infrastructure.
This means we can use the existing poles and wires, along with a local community which has a skilled workforce. A key advantage of modern zero-emissions nuclear plants is they can be plugged into existing grids. This means they can effectively replace retired or retiring coal plants and avoid much of the new spending needed for Labor’s ‘renewables-only’ system, including new transmission poles and wires.
All of which will be passed on in the form of higher bills.
The locations are as follows:
Why does Australia need to follow the lead of other countries and invest in nuclear energy?
No country in the world relies solely on solar and wind as Labor is proposing. By contrast, there are 32 countries operating zero-emissions nuclear plants. Another 50 countries are looking to do so.
Of the world’s 20 largest economies, Australia is the only one not using nuclear energy, or moving towards using it. As for other countries, the Coalition believes Australia must have a balanced energy mix to deliver cheaper, cleaner and consistent 24/7 electricity.
90 per cent of baseload electricity, predominantly coal fired power stations, is coming to the end of life over the next decade. Nuclear energy for Australia is an idea whose time has come.
Does he believe it is safe?
Modern nuclear plants with the latest technology are incredibly safe. Many Australians would be surprised to learn that there are more than 400 reactors operating worldwide today.
Just as the cars people drive off the showroom floor today are superior and safer to those they drove off the showroom floor in the 1980s, it’s the same for the latest nuclear technologies today which are superior and safer compared to those produced decades ago.
Zero-emissions nuclear has proven to be one of the world’s safest forms of energy, due in large
part to its successful management of waste. In fact, it’s ranked the world’s second safest
form of energy generation - even safer than wind and hydro power.
The technology is safe enough for our international partners such as the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom and France. The technology is safe enough for Australian Defence Force personnel who will shortly be operating nuclear propelled submarines under the AUKUS agreement.
The technology is safe enough for residents near Lucas Heights in Sydney, who have lived and worked around an operating reactor since 1958.
Is it too expensive for the number of taxpayers to pay for seven plants?
We disagree with the capital cost assumptions that CSIRO have made for SMRs. The CSIRO have only considered a single technology which is widely understood to be expensive compared to other SMR technologies, and so their assumptions don't survive any real investigation.
The Coalition will announce further details about the costs of its nuclear energy plan in due course. What we know though is that zero-emissions nuclear energy gets prices down across the world while reducing emissions at pace.
That’s why 30 countries already have nuclear in their mix, and they want more, and another 50 are looking to
introduce nuclear for the very first time. Australians are currently paying some of the most expensive electricity prices in the world - up to 56 cents a kWh (South Australia, DMO).
In Ontario, Canada, where nuclear constitutes around 60% of its energy mix, households are paying just 14c kWh - around four times less than Australian households.
In the U.S State of Tennessee which has over 44% nuclear in its mix, households are paying just 18c kWh - around three times less than Australian households.
What about the bans on nuclear power in Victoria – how would a Coalition government get around this?
Before any nuclear power station is to be constructed, there must be thorough community consultation, and updated Commonwealth regulatory changes. In the latter stages, state regulatory regimes will be considered, and the Coalition stands ready to consult with and work with state governments as part of this process. But constitutional law experts said the federal government could override state bans.
