Wednesday 3 August 2022 01:51 AM Peter Dutton to consider proposing nuclear energy in Australia trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 01:51 AM Peter Dutton to consider proposing nuclear energy in Australia trends now
Wednesday 3 August 2022 01:51 AM Peter Dutton to consider proposing nuclear energy in Australia trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 01:51 AM Peter Dutton to consider proposing nuclear energy in Australia trends now

The Liberals will consider pushing to end Australia's ban on nuclear power, believing it could boost energy security and reduce power prices.

Leader Peter Dutton has launched a review into whether the party should back nuclear power at the 2025 federal election.

Despite being emissions free, nuclear power has been banned in Australia since 1998 under Commonwealth laws.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton addresses Coalition Members and Senators during a Coalition party room meeting on Tuesday

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton addresses Coalition Members and Senators during a Coalition party room meeting on Tuesday

In Government the Liberal-National Coalition said bi-partisan support from both sides of politics was needed to reverse the ban.

While the Coalition now discusses backing nuclear, Labor remains opposed, insisting that solar, wind and hydro-electric power are cheaper and faster forms of low emissions energy. 

Announcing his internal policy review on Tuesday, Mr Dutton said nuclear power could provide the 'reliable, emissions-free, base-load electricity Australia needs'.

It comes after energy prices soared due to rising demand for coal and gas prompted by the early onset of winter and Russia's war on Ukraine. 

'Sixty per cent of the capacity of our coal-fired generators is expected to leave the market by 2030,' he said in a statement.

'This will leave Australian households and businesses vulnerable to a re-run of the chaos we are now seeing under Labor.

Pictured: A nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim, southern Germany

Pictured: A nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim, southern Germany

'If we are serious about reducing emissions, while at the same time maintaining a strong economy and protecting our traditional industries, all technologies need to be on the table.

'The Coalition will show Australians that we are prepared to undertake this honest and informed debate, which has alluded our country for too long.' 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to reduce Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. 

Labor also wants to increase the share of renewables in Australia's National Electricity Market to 82 per cent, up from about a third today.

How do nuclear power plants work? 

1. Producing electricity from nuclear energy requires splitting atoms to release the energy.

2. Nuclear reactors fuelled by uranium pellets produce atom-splitting nuclear fission.

3. As they split, atoms release particles which cause other atoms to split, causing a chain reaction. 

4. The chain reaction creates heat that warms a cooling agent such as water or liquid metal.

5. Steam is produced that powers turbines which feed energy to generators that produce electricity. 

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But Mr Albanese wants to achieve these aims by expanding solar, wind and hydro power without needing nuclear.

Key National Party figures such as former leader Barnaby Joyce and leader David Littleproud have been vocal about the benefits of nuclear power.

Last year Mr Joyce described the nation as 'living in a cave' when it comes to the nuclear issue and has called for a repeal of laws blocking its introduction.

'I believe we should have nuclear power... and if people want zero emissions – well, this, this is it,' he said.

'I mean, you have your wind, you can have your solar, but if you want baseline, deliverable, 24/7 zero-emission power, then nuclear does it.'

But opponents, including Labor and the Greens, say nuclear power takes too long to build and is too expensive, with a large plant costing $40billion.

They also brand it dangerous and bad for the environment as it produces waste that must be buried. 

Nuclear power has a PR problem following incidents at reactors such as Three-Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011).

But in 31 countries around the world, more than 450 nuclear power plants are connected to the grid. 

France counts on nuclear power for 75 percent of its electricity, and earns three billion Euros a year as a net exporter to other European nations because of its low cost of generation.

The French made the decision to embrace nuclear technology way back in the 1970s, after the OPEC oil crisis.

The US, Russia, China, the UK and Canada all include nuclear power in their energy mix, some of their reactors powered by uranium from Australia. 

Australia is home to a third of the world's uranium, producing about 10 per cent of the world's exports worth over $730million a year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right on Tuesday) has pledged to reduce Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right on Tuesday) has pledged to reduce Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels

Options more suitable for Australia's smaller population may lie in new-generation Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), or by following the example of the larger one-gigawatt plant with four reactors built by Korean company KEPCO at Barakah in the United Arab

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