<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/04/no-idea-what-hes-talking-about-duttons-nuclear-plan-could-raise-not-cut-electricity-bills-experts-warn>
"Energy experts have rubbished claims by Peter Dutton that his plan to slow the
rollout of renewable energy while waiting more than a decade for
taxpayer-funded nuclear plants could bring down electricity bills in the short
term.
Dutton said if there was “a 44% reduction in the model of delivering an energy
system, you would expect a 44% reduction, or of that order, being passed
through in energy bill relief”.
However, that was a “complete misunderstanding “of the Coalition’s own policy,
according to Dr Dylan McConnell, an energy systems expert at the University of
New South Wales. “He has no idea what he is talking about,” McConnell said.
Speaking to the ABC’s
Insiders program on Sunday, Dutton said “power prices
will be cheaper under us in the near term as well as in the medium to longer
term as well”.
If elected, the Coalition would have to overturn federal and state bans on
nuclear power; it claims it could have the first plants built by 2037. Experts,
including the CSIRO, say the early 2040s is a more realistic timeframe.
The Coalition has not revealed any details on its near-term plans for
electricity generation but Dutton said “we’re going to have to do a lot more
with gas, with coal, in the system”.
Analysis by McConnell suggested the Coalition’s reliance on more coal and gas
would add 1.7bn tonnes of CO₂ to the atmosphere by 2050, compared with Labor’s
plan.
Data from the CSIRO suggests using gas for power generation is more expensive
than coal, and solar and wind. Nuclear electricity would be at least 50% more
expensive than renewables, the CSIRO has said.
Gas prices tripled when the Coalition was in power, according to Tristan Edis,
an analyst at Green Energy Markets."
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
