Canberra

Building nuclear reactors in Australia clashes with the country’s renewable energy plans, according to Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Bowen stated that Australians will need to choose between reliable renewable energy and risky nuclear reactors in the upcoming general election by May 2025, reported to source.

This was Bowen’s first major speech since opposition leader Peter Dutton proposed lifting the ban on nuclear power in June. Dutton’s plan includes constructing seven nuclear power plants at former coal-fired power station sites by 2050 if he becomes prime minister.

Bowen argued that nuclear power is not economically viable for Australia and would jeopardize private investment in renewable energy. The Labor Party aims for 82% of Australia’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

Bowen criticized the opposition’s nuclear plan, saying that their ideological pursuit of nuclear reactors in two decades’ time would wreck the renewables rollout now. He stressed the urgency of investing in new generation now, rather than waiting 15-20 years for nuclear technology that Australia has never used.

Under Dutton’s proposal, the first nuclear reactors would be operational between 2035 and 2037. However, a report by CSIRO and AEMO found that a small reactor would not be operational before 2040, and a large-scale reactor would take even longer. Additionally, the report highlighted that a large-scale nuclear reactor would generate electricity at more than twice the cost of solar PV technology.