By Jeremy Cook
Talk of nuclear energy as an alternative to achieving net zero emissions has been met with great enthusiasm by Australia’s federal LNP.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has yet to formally announce his party’s nuclear energy policy, prompting criticism from the government over details which remain unclear.
What Dutton has revealed is that any power plant locations proposed under the Coalition’s nuclear policy would be earmarked for end of life coal-fired power station sites.
While no sites have been publicly nominated, Nationals leader and Maranoa MP David Littleproud threw his support behind “hosting nuclear power plants” at existing coal-fired power stations, including in his own electorate.
“This obviously includes Maranoa,” Littleproud told Warwick Stanthorpe Today.
He pointed to survey results published by conservative think tank the Lowy Institute in early-June which found six in 10 Australians now support nuclear power.
“Voters are increasingly in favour of bringing nuclear into the mix because it is clear many Australian households can’t afford to keep the lights on, using renewables alone,” Littleproud said.
There are two coal-fired power stations currently operating in the Maranoa electorate, the Millmerran and Kogan Creek Power Stations. Both are scheduled to close in 2051 and 2042 respectively.
The Coalition’s nuclear plan has come under fire from its Labor counterparts for high costs and development timeframes.
The CSIRO’s latest GenCost report estimated that if a decision to pursue nuclear energy was made next year, then the first fully operational power plant would come online “no sooner than 2040”, at a potential cost in excess of $17 billion.
“What we’ve rejected is a form of energy which is slow and expensive to build and is a risk when it comes to the reliability of our energy system, and that, of course, is nuclear,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen told federal parliament last Thursday.
“It’s been 674 days since the Leader of the Opposition said that he would take the Liberal and National parties down the road of risky reactors … and what a magical mystery tour it’s been of half-truths, myths and contradictions,” Bowen said.
Asked how the Coalition plans to overcome the costs involved in its nuclear proposal, Littleproud claimed there would be more “capital turnover” involved with renewable projects.
“A nuclear power plant has a life of between 80 and 90 years, whereas renewable projects at best have a 20-year life span, so there would be three times, even four times, capital turnover required for these projects,” he said.
“Labor is proposing an all-renewables approach costed by Net Zero Australia at $1.5 trillion, which creates concentration risk, by putting all our energy eggs in one basket, as well as thousands of kilometres of transmission lines that families will have to pay for.
“Nuclear would also create even more jobs in areas such as Maranoa that are higher paying than those currently at existing plants.
“I believe we need to change the culture in this country, from one that says why we can’t do things, to one that says how we can and backs ourselves and our people to get it right.”
