Australia's first nuclear power plant has an official start date - so will you give it the green light?

29 January 2025
Daily Mail
The Coalition has vowed to begin building nuclear power plants on 'day one' if they are elected.   

Peter Dutton has long promised to build seven nuclear reactors across Australia at an estimated cost of over $300 billion if he can oust Labor from power.

The Opposition Leader has claimed the power plants will work alongside renewables to stop blackouts and reduce electricity bills.

But critics have warned the cost of converting to nuclear will blow out to more than double at $600 billion, ultimately slugging Aussie households with higher bills.   

But Nationals leader David Littleproud has doubled down on the Coalition's commitment to begin building power plants immediately if elected.

'We'll start building the first nuclear power plant, the very first day after a coalition government's elected,' Mr Littleproud told Sky News.

'We'll get on with the job. The time for talks are over.

'We have to get on with this so that we can have AI, we can have fast rail, we can have smelters in this country, and one where regional Australia has a future, not littered with transmission lines and solar panels and wind turbines.'

Nationals leader David Littleproud (pictured) has doubled down on the Coalition's commitment to begin building power plants immediately if elected





Mr Littleproud, who would be Deputy Prime Minister if the Coalition win this year's federal election, which must be held by May 17, said that their position was that 'we should not put all our energy eggs in one basket'.

'We're all for renewables, but we want to balance and get that balance right,' he said.

'We should transition some of those coal-fired power stations across to nuclear power plants, but we'll need a lot of gas in the short term.'

The Nationals leader said it was 'insanity' to rely solely on renewables because transmission lines, solar panels and wind turbines would impact food security.

'We've got sovereignty of all our resources, we should use all of our resources, not just some,' he added.

Mr Littleproud has previously sought to reassure voters about the safety of the proposed nuclear power plants. 

'This is safe technology ... we're not talking about 1950s technology from Russia nor letting the Russians run it,' he told reporters last year.

'We're not putting them where a tsunami is going to take place.'



Critics have warned the cost of converting to nuclear will blow out to more than double at $600 billion, ultimately slugging Aussie households with higher bills


The latter was a reference to the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011 where an earthquake and tsunami damaged a nuclear power plant, with the fall out resulting in 51 deaths.   

Mr Littleproud claimed that nuclear energy would provide over 30 per cent of the power to the grid.

However, the Smart Energy Council claims it will only amount to 3.7 per cent of Australia's energy mix by 2050.

Both sides of politics support a goal of net zero by 2050.

However, Labor's plan is for renewable energy to comprise 82 per cent of Australia's energy generation by 2030, rising to 98 per cent by 2040 based on solar and wind.

Whereas, the Coalition sees nuclear making up 38 per cent of Australia's electricity generation by that time, with solar and wind energy making up 49 per cent of the mix and gas, pumped hydro and storage the rest.

The Coalition's plan was modelled by Frontier Economics, which costed Labor's energy transition at $594billion, versus $331billion for the Coalition's nuclear plan - marking a difference of $263billion.

Quote:


Of course. Better start building them before the people find out what it is really going to cost.

ON WHICH SUBJECT (which we weren't):-

When will Australia divest itself of the same stupid Wong implemented 'auctioning off of river water' scheme that left Cliffornia (the remnant once the big quake comes) bereft of water; cut back and finally extinguish its enslavement of its people to the mythical 'global economy' that does not pay its way and rapes economies and nations; take back its own capacity to exploit its own resources for the Common Wealth; and restore its own productive capability of good fruit and such?

When will this nation put its own people first, and stop the flush of 'politicians' dedicated to this insane 'global economy' from which they themselves derive fantastic benefits?  'flush' as in coming down the tubes!

When will this nation become Of The People, BY the People, and FOR the People first and foremost?

Now think on the range of issues involved in this taking back the asylum.

This might help - though I'm wary of deep academics:-

https://www.unisa.edu.au/unisanews/2019/may/story9/

whiteknight wrote on Feb 1^st, 2025 at 6:01am:


Anyone who honestly believes that we can have a stable power grid comprised of 82% renewables needs their head read because even now we have less than that in terms of renewables and still have blackouts and brownouts. Renewables cannot replace coal or nuclear for baseload power generation. It just can't and it's not something that is debatable. Renewables can supplement baseload power generation, but it just can't replace it. End of story.

A step on the road to safe clean and reliable power that we should have taken 60 years ago. But better late than never. 

John Smith wrote on Feb 1^st, 2025 at 1:24pm:


Not to the same extent they are occurring now. This has never been a thing until the obsession with so called renewables.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-31/energex-ergon-peaksmart-air-con-cuts-duri...

Quote:


What a ridiculous thing to say ?

What Potato head is going out into the field with a shovel ? They don't even have a sensible plan. They cannot possibly start building inside 10 years. Their isn't even an existing plant of the type they want available on the market. It doesn't exist.

Besides you wouldn't even trust these clowns make a bacon and egg sandwich.

John Smith wrote on Feb 1^st, 2025 at 1:24pm:


Yes but think of the power savings when people can glow in the dark.