No nuclear option for $275m green-manufacturing and innovation grants

Grants from a NSW $275 million green manufacturing fund will not go towards nuclear projects as the state says the technology is not part of its plans to reach net-zero emissions.

Under the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative program, announced on Monday,  businesses can access grants for manufacture of renewable energy systems, low-carbon products and clean-technology innovation.

The program is part of the state’s legislated pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 50 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050.

But Climate Change Minister Penny Sharpe ruled out any grants going to projects such as the development of small modular nuclear reactors, despite a Newspoll on Monday showing two-thirds of younger Australians backed the technology.

“We’re looking at, even if you wanted to start today … a 14-year horizon to get it in the ground, which we don’t actually have,” she told reporters.

“The second point that I make is that nuclear energy is 350 per cent more expensive than renewables.”

Premier Chris Minns said the grants would bolster local manufacturing in the renewable and clean-technology industries, especially among small and medium-sized firms.

“The thing I like about this so much is that it enhances what is taking place in our research universities in the state as it currently stands,” he said.

The initiative will focus on lab-proven tech and the build of “market-ready products” ready to be scaled up and rolled out in NSW, the government says.

It comes as the state scrambles to replace ageing coal power stations with renewable energy to meet its emission targets, while also trying to keep a lid on power prices and maintain capacity.