Antinuclear

CSIRO puts cost of new nuclear plant at $8.6bn as Coalition stalls on policy details

Report finds nuclear energy more expensive than renewable alternatives and calculates costs for large-scale reactors for first time

Graham Readfearn, Guardian, 22 May 24

Electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind, according to a report from the CSIRO that has for the first time calculated costs for large-scale reactors.

The federal Coalition, which has claimed nuclear would provide cheap electricity, is still to reveal any details on its nuclear policy after initially promising it would make an announcement in time for last week’s federal budget.

This week the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said more plans would be released “in due course” and he has yet to say where plants might be built or how large they would be.

The Coalition would first have to overturn a federal ban on nuclear power. Several state government bans also exist.

According to CSIRO’s GenCost report, a theoretical 1,000MW nuclear plant built today would cost at least $8.6bn.

The report said nuclear costs in that range “can only be achieved if Australia commits to a continuous building program and only after an initial higher cost unit is constructed”.

The capital costs of a large nuclear plant could double in a country that has never built a large reactor before, the report said……………………………………………………….  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/22/australia-nuclear-power-plants-csiro-peter-dutton-liberal-coalition-plan

May 24, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized