<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/nuclear-option-costs-six-times-more-than-renewables-study-finds/>
"The high upfront costs and burden on consumers of adding nuclear to
Australia’s energy mix have been confirmed in an independent review.
Building nuclear reactors would cost six times more than wind and solar power
firmed up with batteries, according to the independent report released on
Saturday by the Clean Energy Council.
“We support a clear-eyed view of the costs and time required to decarbonise
Australia and right now, nuclear simply doesn’t stack up,” the industry body’s
chief executive Kane Thornton said.
Taxpayers needed to understand the decades of costs if they were forced to foot
the bill for building a nuclear industry from scratch, Mr Thornton warned.
The analysis prepared by construction and engineering experts Egis also found
nuclear energy had poor economic viability in a grid dominated by renewable
energy.
Renewable energy will provide 82 per cent of the national electricity market
under current targets for 2030, which is at least a decade before any nuclear
could theoretically be operational.
Further, nuclear power stations are not designed to ramp up and down to align
with renewable energy generation.
Adding to the cost challenges, Australia has no nuclear energy industry because
it is prohibited under commonwealth and state laws, which would all need to be
changed.
Mr Thornton said the analysis confirmed that building nuclear power stations
instead of renewables would cause power prices to “explode”.
The analysis was based on the CSIRO’s GenCost 2023-24 consultation draft, the
Mineral Council of Australia’s Small Modular Reactors study and the industry
benchmark Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy Report.
These reports did not include waste management and decommissioning of a nuclear
plant in cost calculations, which meant the true cost could be even higher, Mr
Thornton said."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
