Antinuclear

Gas before nuclear ‘thought bubble’ as coal reign ends

Yahoo/Finance! Jack Gramenz, Tue 9 July 2024

Federal opposition plans to roll out nuclear energy have been dismissed as a thought bubble as the nation races to replace coal power.

Alternatives to the fossil fuel – which still powers much of the grid in NSW, Victoria and Queensland – are being rapidly rolled out with coal’s reign “swiftly ending,” according to electricity company bosses.

Proposals to increase natural gas supplies for the nation’s most populous state are being assessed and welcomed as renewable projects come online, NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe says.

“We don’t want to see price spikes and we don’t want to see uncertainty for industry,” she told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Tuesday………………….

“More and more renewable energy is entering the system, but it’s always happening more slowly than we would like,” Ms Sharpe said.

The state Labor minister said she was “unimpressed” by a proposal from the federal coalition to roll out nuclear power stations.

The plan posed too many important but unanswered questions and threatened to smash a hole in the certainty provided by the state’s energy strategy, she said.

“NSW will not be risking our future economic prosperity for a policy thought bubble designed to play politics,” Ms Sharpe said……………………..

The chief executive of Australia’s largest energy generator and greenhouse-gas emitter reaffirmed nuclear power was not part of the company’s future.

AGL’s Damien Nicks told the same event the electricity supplier focused on renewable generation and storage.

“AGL’s generation portfolio will look completely different by 2035, when we’re no longer generating electricity from coal,” he said……………

The transmission network operator is building 2500km of new lines to carry an expected 17-gigawatt surge in renewable generation as more projects enter the grid.

Ms Sharpe on Tuesday announced the inaugural chair and seven commissioners for the state’s Net Zero Commission……. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/gas-nuclear-thought-bubble-net-044223314.html

July 10, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics