<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/12/building-nuclear-power-plants-australia-cost-csiro-predictions>
"Energy experts have warned that the cost of building nuclear power plants in
Australia could be more than double the figure the CSIRO has suggested, based
on international experience.
A draft
GenCost report – the national science agency’s annual assessment of
electricity costs – this week again found nuclear electricity would be far more
expensive than solar and wind energy backed by “firming” technology.
It also rejected opposition claims that nuclear power plants could be developed
in Australia in less than 15 years.
The Coalition has said it would remove bans on nuclear power and eventually use
taxpayer funds to build reactors at seven existing coal plant sites. Until
then, it would slow the rollout of renewable energy and use more fossil fuel
electricity.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has said the estimated cost of its
proposal would be released this week.
The CSIRO found a 1 gigawatt large-scale nuclear plant would cost about $9bn if
it were possible to start building in Australia today and a nuclear industry
was already well established. It said initial large-scale generators could cost
twice as much – about $18bn – due to a “first-of-a-kind” premium.
Small modular nuclear reactors, which do not yet exist commercially, were
estimated to cost about $29.6bn for 1GW of capacity, again assuming a nuclear
industry was established.
The opposition’s climate change and energy spokesperson, Ted O’Brien, has said
he accepted the agency’s estimate of capital costs for nuclear. Dutton has
suggested, without evidence, that the Albanese government had interfered in the
report.
CSIRO’s estimate is benchmarked to costs in South Korea, a democratic country
with a long-running nuclear program. Several energy experts said this was
likely to substantially underestimate the ultimate costs of building reactors
in Australia."
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
