The mining industry has declared that nuclear power could be the cheapest way to generate electricity in the next decade, an audacious claim that advocates of wind and solar power are likely to bitterly dispute.
The chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Tania Constable, said a new generation of compact nuclear reactors should be legalised because they could generate electricity for as little as $60 a megawatt hour – which is much less than the $98.10 average price last year in the renewable pioneer of South Australia, and higher than any other state in the National Electricity Market.
“Apart from existing run-of-water hydro, nuclear is the only energy source capable of providing affordable zero-emissions power 24/7 at industrial scale,” Ms Constable said as part of a submission to a federal inquiry into nuclear power.
Apart from the danger of a reactor meltdown, which experts say is unlikely, the most common argument against nuclear power plants is that they are too expensive to compete with wind and solar energy backed up by batteries or other forms of storage.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull last week said it was “obvious” that nuclear was more expensive than renewables, although this was partly contradicted by his son, Alex, who is a supporter of nuclear energy.
For the rest of this article: https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/mining-industry-predicts-nuclear-will-be-cheapest-power-20190913-p52r29