Taxpayer-owned nuclear power plants would cost more than $300 billion over 25 years, Peter Dutton will today argue, as he releases his long-awaited energy policy.
The proposal would see nuclear energy replace some, although not most, of the power generation Labor proposes to meet with renewables.
Renewables would still be the majority power source under the Dutton plan, but nuclear plants would provide up to 14 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, according to modelling produced by the private firm Frontier Economics which has not been seen by the ABC or published.
That would account for a modest percentage of Australia’s energy demand by 2050, according to the expectations of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
But reporting in The Australian and the Financial Review indicates the Coalition will argue Australia’s energy needs will be smaller than what AEMO assumes, in part because it will assume fewer electric vehicles are adopted.
Mr Dutton said the cost of his plan would be $263 billion cheaper than the cost of Labor’s policy, which Frontier has estimated is around $600 billion. Labor disputes that cost.
“Only the Coalition’s energy plan delivers a cheaper, cleaner, and consistent future for Australian households and businesses while protecting our environment and securing the energy Australians rely on,” he said.
The Coalition argues it can save money on “unnecessary infrastructure expenses” including transmission, if nuclear power plants could be “plugged in” to transmission lines currently used by coal.
Its proposal also expects a longer life of coal plants than AEMO, necessary because it only expects the first nuclear plant to be operational by 2036.
“We know this is a plan for the 2040s and in the meantime, I’m not quite sure what [Peter Dutton] thinks will happen with energy security,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday morning.
“The truth is that renewables are the cheapest form of new energy. Everyone knows that that’s the case.”
The CSIRO and AEMO’s latest annual “generation cost” report was published on Monday, finding again that nuclear was significantly more expensive than renewables once construction, transmission and storage costs are considered.
The Coalition’s Energy spokesperson Ted O’Brien said the Coalition’s plan would see a smoother transition.
“Our plan responsibly integrates renewables… At the same time, zero-emissions nuclear energy and gas provide the reliability that Labor’s plan fails to deliver.”
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the policy was “a fantasy”.
“What the Coalition is asking the Australian people to believe is this: that they can introduce the most expensive form of energy and it will end up being cheaper. It won’t pass the pub test,” he said.
