Energy minister Chris Bowen has slammed the Coalition’s “nuclear fantasy”, describing it as a deliberate distraction and a “desperate effort” to keep the climate culture war alive.
Bowen was asked why the government would not lift the ban against nuclear and allow for the “market to decide,” as the Coalition suggests.
He pointed to the fact it would take a decade to develop a regulatory regime, and three states also had their own bans in place.
The Coalition wants to stop the roll-out of large scale renewables, and replace ageing and retiring coal fired power stations with nuclear power.
Bowen said the market didn't favour nuclear anywhere in the world - in fact, it receives government subsidies in every market in which it appears.
Coalition leader Peter Dutton and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien had favoured small modular reactors, but appear to have flipped back to large scale nuclear after the only prospective SMR in the western world was cancelled over soaring costs.
Bowen says the push to nuclear is simply an extension of the culture war over climate and energy issues.
Federal Labor has adopted a target to reach 82% renewables by 2030. Most energy experts suggest all remaining coal fired power stations would be closed by around 2035.
Nuclear is seen as impossible to deliver in Australia before 2040, and energy experts question how an essentially “baseload” energy supply can be jammed into what will by then be a grid dominated by wind and solar.