Nuclear too costly for Australia’s energy future – Rewiring Australia

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Image credit: Rewiring Australia 

Rooftop solar and distributed energy resources are set to deliver the most cost-effective energy for Australians, while nuclear power remains too costly and slow to address the nation’s energy challenges, according to Rewiring Australia founder and chief scientist Dr Saul Griffith.

“A lowest cost energy system will maximise rooftop solar and distributed energy resources, because that delivers the lowest priced electricity to consumers, while also lowering transmission requirements,” Dr Griffith said.

Currently, rooftop solar in Australia is generating energy at just five cents per kilowatt hour, compared to new nuclear power in the United States, which costs 20 cents per kilowatt hour before even reaching the grid. 

Dr Griffith emphasised that focusing on nuclear could jeopardise potential savings of $1.7 trillion for Australian households through widespread electrification.

“Nuclear is proposed as so-called ‘baseload’ power, which has never been the problem for Australia. The challenge is meeting demand peaks and industrial loads at low cost,” he said. 

“Industry needs energy to be very cheap, something that nuclear is not, so it’s not solving any real problems here.”

While advocating for Australia’s participation in global research on next-generation nuclear technologies, Dr Griffith stressed that the country’s geographic and demographic advantages make nuclear power less practical compared to renewable energy solutions.

“Some countries that are small, cold, and with higher population density and minimal solar and wind resources will need nuclear to replace fossil fuels, but Australia has the opposite population and geographical characteristics,” he explained.

Water usage further complicates the viability of nuclear energy in Australia. Dr Griffith highlighted that a single gigawatt-sized nuclear power plant would require up to two million litres of water per hour to produce electricity, an unsustainable demand for a water-scarce nation.

Dr Griffith concluded that prioritising rooftop solar and distributed energy resources, combined with ongoing electrification efforts, represents the most effective path for Australia to achieve a low-cost, sustainable energy future.