Paladin Energy CEO delivers broadside against Greens Party A leading Australian uranium industry figure fired a broadside at the country's Greens Party which has pushed a case that Australia could be run totally on renewable energy by 2040.
Author: Ross Louthean Posted: Thursday , 21 Jul 2011
PERTH - -
Speaking in the last session of the Australian Uranium Conference in Fremantle this evening, Paladin Energy Ltd's chief executive John Borshoff described the case made by the country's Greens Party that Australia could be run totally on renewable enrergy by 2040 as stupid.
Borshoff believed renewable energy sources in Australia were light years away from getting anywhere near the base load power generation created in Australia mainly by coal and gas.
The Paladin chief said despite the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis which had seen the share price of Australian and North American mining stocks lose between 40% to 60% of their value, it was clear that the world was still on course for a serious shortfall in yellowcake supply by 2014.
This was a consensus view from many other leading uranium and nuclear power analysts who spoke at the two day conference.
Borshoff said the big share price drop for uranium explorers and miners clearly showed that the sector had been oversold.
A positive side to the Fukushima incident, where there were no deaths despite alarmist reports, was that it will make the industry even safer with upgrades to accommodate "extreme situations."
He said the Fukushima incident in Japan had been nothing more than a smokescreen obscuring the positive underlying fundamentals of the industry.
The underlying driver for the world's thirst for more nuclear power was the modern day phenomenon "we call electricity."
"It is the life blood of our modern world and the world is as hungry for electricity as it is for food. As humanity needs food for its survival, electricity has become just as crucial to have in today's civilisation," he said.
"Imagine New York or London if it lost electricity for two weeks. Famine riots would be nothing by comparison."
Energy strategists around the world, including China, India and Russia, believe the world cannot generate enough electricity fast enough.
"Nuclear is not here because people love it, it is here because there is no option, period."
With the global population expected to grow by a "further 50% minimum to 9 billion people" by 2050 the energy demand equation would go into overdrive.
He said some of the climate changes being imposed globally on coal will be a severe handicap to the use of coal as a key element in global energy supply. The reality may prove to be that coal supply may have to increase two to three times by mid century to "keep up its end of the bargain."
Renewables were, in terms of base-load power, nothing but "nonsense."
(20min delay)