The political debate about the role of nuclear power in Australia is so robust it’s a shame we can’t harness its energy. Given there is an election in the wind, it would be unfortunate if this vital conversation about our country’s sustainable energy future became bogged down in political point-scoring.

I have no points to score, but as a technologist with experience in clean-technology policy, perhaps I can shine a spotlight on some key facts in the hope they are remembered in the discussions ahead. Nuclear power is too important to be debated on uncertainties.

The Sizewell C nuclear reactor in the UK; Alan Finkel. Credit: Bloomberg/SMH

Let’s start with a look at its benefits.

From the engineering point of view, it ticks many boxes. It is unequivocally zero emissions during operation and the emissions associated with construction are low. It integrates smoothly with our existing electricity grid and contributes to frequency control and system strength.

Nuclear power can be dispatched on demand independently of the weather and can, in principle, be located near existing transmission lines. The only technological limitation is that – like coal-fired power plants – large nuclear reactors are slow to ramp their output up and down, but small modular reactors (SMRs) are expected to be better in this respect.

The mining resources required for construction are low: no battery materials such as lithium and cobalt, or rare-earth elements such as neodymium and terbium, are needed.

Nuclear power has a tremendous safety record.Credit: Bloomberg

The volume of fuel is small, with only one tonne of uranium needed to produce the same amount of electricity as 100,000 tonnes of black coal.

The land footprint is only about three square kilometres for a one-gigawatt nuclear plant versus about 60 square kilometres for a three-gigawatt solar plant that would generate the same annual output.

QOSHE - Yes, nuclear’s an option. But let there be no confusion about its flaws - Alan Finkel
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Yes, nuclear’s an option. But let there be no confusion about its flaws

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22.03.2024

The political debate about the role of nuclear power in Australia is so robust it’s a shame we can’t harness its energy. Given there is an election in the wind, it would be unfortunate if this vital conversation about our country’s sustainable energy future became bogged down in political point-scoring.

I have no points to score, but as a technologist with experience in clean-technology policy, perhaps I can shine a spotlight on some key facts in the hope they are remembered in the........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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