Nuclear not the solution Australia needs, says electricity grid chief

Australia’s energy market operator has dismissed claims that nuclear is the answer to the power grid’s challenges, warning the technology is expensive and cannot be developed in time to replace rapidly retiring coal-fired generators.

“Even on the most optimistic outlook, nuclear power won’t be ready in time for the exit of Australia’s coal-fired power stations,” Westerman said. “And the imperative to replace that retiring generation is with us now.” AEMO, which oversees the interstate power and gas markets, assumes that number could be even higher. Its 25-year road map, released last month following consultations with 2100 stakeholders, found that 90 per cent of the remaining coal capacity was likely to have shut by 2035, and expects the fossil fuel to have exited the grid entirely by 2040.

That report concluded that Australia’s first nuclear plant would cost up to $16 billion, and could not be operational until at least 2040, despite the Coalition promising it would be ready in the 2030s. Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said the Coalition believed in a “balanced mix of technologies”, including renewables, gas and nuclear energy, to replace coal.

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