Going nuclear and ditching Labor’s renewables-only plan will save Australians almost $300 billion by 2050, the Coalition and independent modelling claims.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton will reveal the costings for his long-anticipated nuclear energy plan on Friday.
The Liberal and Nationals’ plan would see an energy grid powered by 38 per cent nuclear, 53 per cent renewables, and the rest with gas and storage.
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It is modelled to cost $331 billion over the next 25 years, with Dutton claiming the first nuclear reactor can be built in 10 to 12 years.
The Opposition Leader will discuss the policy with the joint party room, before holding a press conference.
Some fireworks can be expected on Friday with the Albanese Government on the defence.
Labor will point to new CSIRO modelling, that forecasts nuclear energy to be twice the cost of renewables.
Dutton claims the CSIRO figures are misleading and politicised, but Australia’s peak science research body hit back saying: “We conduct our independent, rigorous research without fear or favour”.
The energy debate will be front and centre in next year’s federal election campaign, as Australians struggle with the soaring cost-of-living and high-power bills.
“Australians will be better off under our plan,” Dutton said.
“We will avoid hidden costs, reduce unnecessary infrastructure expenses, and lead to lower energy prices. Labor’s chaotic plan burdens Australians with a system that costs five times more than they were promised.
“The Coalition’s plan ensures Australians are not overburdened by unnecessary expenses or reckless policies. Nuclear energy is at the heart of our plan, providing the ‘always-on’ power needed to back up renewables and stabilise the grid.”
In June, the Coalition announced plans to repurpose seven retiring coal-fired plants across Australia including six on the east coast and one in Western Australia. The nuclear plants would be government-owned and would be built between 2035 and 2050.
Frontier found base generation costs using renewables between now and 2050 would be $528 billion once inflation was taken into account, slightly lower than AEMO’s projection of $580 billion.
Frontier also noted the AEMO costings did not include transmission costs of an estimated $62 billion. This would take Frontier’s estimate of the costs up to $590 billion — the basis for the $263 billion savings claim — and AEMO’s version to $642 billion.
“Frontier Economics’ analysis leaves no doubt: Australians will be better off under our plan. We will avoid hidden costs, reduce unnecessary infrastructure expenses, and lead to lower energy prices,” Dutton said.
“Nuclear energy is at the heart of our plan, providing the ‘always-on’ power needed to back up renewables, stabilise the grid, and keep energy affordable.”
Shadow energy minister Ted O’Brien said the Coalition’s plan would deliver 14GW of nuclear energy into the grid by 2050.
Coal power stations currently have about 21GW of capacity, but this is forecast to drop to 6.7GW by 2037 as the ageing generators close. There is already more than 29GW of renewables in the system.
“Our plan responsibly integrates renewables, doubling large-scale solar and wind capacity while protecting regional communities from overdevelopment. At the same time, zero-emissions nuclear energy and gas provide the reliability that Labor’s plan fails to deliver,” Mr O’Brien said.
But Treasurer Jim Chalmers said a nuclear energy plan was “economic insanity”.
“We have everything we need from cleaner and cheaper energy and Peter Dutton instead wants to go for the most expensive option which takes the longest and which would only, at best, provide about 4 per cent of our power,” he said on Thursday.
“We are at the end of the last full year before an election and these characters still don’t have any credible, costed, or coherent economic policies.”
The latest CSIRO’s GenCost report, released this week, found large-scale nuclear power would cost $150/MWh compared with $100/MWh for new solar or wind generation.
— With Katina Curtis
