Bowen wants blank cheque as world looks to nuclearIn September,...

Bowen wants blank cheque as world looks to nuclear

In September, Mr Bowen tried and failed to king-hit the Coalition when he released figures from his department to show the Peter Dutton-Ted O’Brien plan to convert coal-fired power stations to nuclear small modular reactors would cost $387bn to replace retiring coal-fired plants with 21GW of nuclear generation. The data said at least 712 300MW SMRs would be needed to replace coal-fired plants with 21.3GW of nuclear power. Costly as that would be, it represents excellent value alongside the renewable options set out by the Net Zero Australia group. The opposition’s policies will include more gas, extending coal power plants and integrating renewables. They will also look at three nuclear technologies – SMRs, micro-reactors and large-scale nuclear. Even President Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, said this month that “nuclear is 100 per cent part of the solution”. And energy ministers from Canada, France, Japan, Korea, Turkey, the US and Britain met in Paris recently to discuss zero-emissions nuclear energy. According to Professor Batterham, decision-makers should not take any option, including coal, off the table. “You don’t close coal down if you haven’t got the reliable supply there ready to take over when you turn it off,” he said earlier in the year. He also cautioned against waiting for “silver-bullet” technology, such as SMRs. “Nuclear might get there, but it ain’t there yet.”

Mr Bowen insists the government is acting on renewables to avoid blackouts and energy price rises. He is expecting to win support from the states and territories for his plan, and says stronger investment in renewables would “supercharge available power in the energy grid, delivering the long-term reliable, affordable and low-emissions energy system Australians deserve as our grid changes”. Beyond the cliches, his failure to seriously examine nuclear options winning favour across the developed world risks Australia being left at the starting gate. Ideology and hot air will not power businesses, households, infrastructure and services.