<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/with-the-coalitions-nuclear-fantasy-demolished-by-csiro-labor-must-get-cracking-on-renewables/>
"The new CSIRO
GenCost 2023-24 report released this week makes for very
interesting reading.
In the report, the Australian Government’s independent scientific body subjects
the nuclear barracking of Peter Dutton and Ted O’Brien to a comprehensive
science and economics based, peer reviewed debunking.
Peter Dutton has now pivoted to spruiking large scale nuclear reactors, having
repeatedly thumped the table last year asserting in the face of all the
available evidence that small modular reactors are the solution for Australia’s
energy transition, with a similar reception from the CSIRO.
The CSIRO finds that even if we started in 2025, Australia could not
realistically have a nuclear plant operational until 2040 at the earliest,
small or large.
This is too late. We need to act now – this critical decade – to slash
emissions and energy costs.
While nuclear is workable in some other economies globally as a zero-emissions
energy source – in fact, as we wrote previously, nuclear is a material part of
the energy mix in communist China as that nation rapidly decarbonises – it is
simply not viable here.
This is the case given the protracted timeframes required for deployment, as
well as the capital cost, technical barriers, the absence of the skills and
supply chains required, and the legislative bans. And no private firm in the
world can or will finance nuclear power plants absent massive government
propping-up in the form of huge public capital commitments, operational,
insurance and cleanup cost subsidies and indemnities.
Here, the nuclear fantasy would be the ultra-high cost option, extending and
locking in the cost of living crisis hammering Australians via permanently
higher energy costs.
The report finds that the estimated levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) range
for large-scale nuclear is A$155-252 per megawatt hour (MWh), or a lot more if
we don’t commit to a continuous nuclear buildout program.
CSIRO says that is double the cost of fully firmed renewable energy of
$90-100/MWh by 2030, even after adding every conceivable cost into the equation
for renewables such as grid transmission, curtailment, and both short and long
duration battery firming."
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
