Nuclear power is too expensive to be seen as an option to help Australia cut carbon emissions for at least the next decade, according to the latest CSIRO report.
While some politicians and industry organizations continue to promote nuclear power as a way for Australia to move away from fossil fuels, the economics of large or small modular reactors are no match for renewable energy sources such as wind or solar.
And that’s before political considerations are taken into account as to whether the federal or state governments will change the laws allowing nuclear power plants to be built in Australia.
“The status of nuclear SMRs [small modular reactors] has not changed,” the CSIRO report says.
“After extensive consultation with the Australian electricity industry, the report’s findings do not see any prospects for domestic projects this decade, given the commercial immaturity of the technology and its high cost.”
“Future cost reductions are possible but depend on its successful commercial rollout overseas,” the paper notes.
A Gencost report found that a small reactor typically costs up to A$16,000 per kilowatt-hour, 50 to 100 percent more than a large-scale nuclear reactor. In contrast, wind and solar cost less than A$2,000 per kilowatt hour.
In June, former Energy Security Council chair Kerry Schott told the Australian Financial Review that nuclear power, like new coal-fired power plants, is not viable because it is too expensive.