Australian Energy Regulator Dashes Opposition's Hopes For Nuclear Reactors By 2035

The federal opposition's hopes to get nuclear reactors running by 2035 were dashed after the chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, Clare Savage, said the project wouldn't start before 2050.

The timeline sparked heated debate during the Australian Clean Energy Summit in Sydney, apart from an argument about whether nuclear power was a viable alternative to coal-fired electricity amid the pressing need to fight climate change.

Agreeing to Savage's comments, made at the Australian Clean Energy Summit on Tuesday, federal energy minister Chris Bowen said: "It's a tactic to divert, delay and avoid action on climate. It's a ploy to keep coal running longer and at massive costs to reliability and emissions," as per The Guardian.

Bowen has expressed concerns about the potentially negative impact the significant government subsidies on nuclear power may have, as foreign investors may choose not to back renewable energy projects, which are currently thought to be more in line with Australia's energy requirements, according to PV Magazine Australia.

"That investment chill wouldn't come when the first reactor was delivered, in 2035 or 2037 or more likely the 2040s, it would come as soon as the Coalition was elected," Bowen will say in an address to the National Press Club.

"And so Australia would be trading investment certainty and urgently-needed renewable investment for the hope of more costly reactors in two decades time."

The Australian government is ramping up efforts to acquire a detailed report from the coalition over its controversial pledge to build seven nuclear facilities. Many questions remain to be answered, such as what the total cost of these reactors will be, when building is expected to start, and what sort of electricity they would generate.

"All the opposition has released is seven locations, that's it," Bowen said, adding that the next election would be a choice for Australian voters between "reliable renewables or risky reactors".

To make the switch to renewable energy sources easier, the minister claims that the Labor administration is investing significant money in updating the energy infrastructure. Part of this is using natural gas as a transitional fuel as coal-fired power plants are phased out. According to him, Australia's energy system is unsuitable for nuclear reactors due to its characteristics and the needs and goals the country now has for energy.

"Our grid is already almost 40% renewable. Renewable energy is incredibly cheap because its fuel is free, whether that is sunshine or wind," Bowen said. "When the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, we have ample power flowing into the grid at zero marginal cost, which brings down the wholesale cost of power to zero and even delivers negative prices."