<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>335203</docID> <postdate>2024-12-13 08:39:50</postdate> <headline>Libs nuclear plan to cost $330b but modelling disputed</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-335204" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20240609181567504592-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="547" /></p> <caption>The political battle over Australia's energy future is expected to heat up on Friday. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Dominic Giannini</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>Coal and gas-fired power plants will stay open for longer under the coalition's $330 billion nuclear transition plan. </strong></p> <p>Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged to build seven publicly-owned nuclear power plants across the country, with predictions the first will come online from the mid-to-late 2030s - a timeline rubbished by some experts.</p> <p>Renewables would make up just over half of Australia's energy grid by 2050, with nuclear accounting for just under 40 per cent and the rest a combination of storage and gas, snippets of the plan dropped ahead of its release contend.</p> <p>Labor's plan is to have the grid firmed by just over 80 per cent renewable energy by 2030.</p> <p>This will increase to more than 90 per cent by 2050 with the rest made up of storage and gas.</p> <p>Nuclear energy would provide the "always-on" power to back up renewables and lead to cheaper power bills in the long run, Mr Dutton claimed.</p> <p>But nuclear energy does not offer a good deal for Australia, a report released just ahead of Mr Dutton unveiling his costings found, while postponing coal power station closures would heighten Australia's carbon emissions in the medium term.</p> <p>For the seventh straight year, the GenCost 2024-25 Report found renewable energy sources are the lowest-cost of any new-build electricity-generating technology.</p> <p>Nuclear energy generation would be 1.5 to two times more expensive than large-scale solar, according to the analysis by the national science agency CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator.</p> <p>Energy market operators would also need to establish new connection points to safely supply the national electricity grid, experts have said.</p> <p>The coalition's plan was modelled by Frontier Economics, which cost Labor's transition around $600 billion.</p> <p>Energy Minister Chris Bowen has rubbished this number, saying the government's plan would cost $122 billion, citing a forecast made by the national energy grid operator.</p> <p>"They're making it up as they go along," Mr Bowen told ABC TV of the coalition's costings on Friday.</p> <p>Mr Bowen said preliminary reports of the coalition's plan ahead of Friday's full announcement that nuclear would need fewer transmission lines - therefore bringing down the estimated cost - was incorrect.</p> <p>"I'm not sure how they'll get the nuclear power into the grid, maybe by carrier pigeon if they're going to assert if somehow you'll need less transmission," he said.</p> <p>"They have had to make some very heroic assumptions here and they have had to really stretch the truth to try to get some very dodgy figures."</p> <p>Keeping coal-fired power plants open beyond their lifespan was a threat to energy reliability, with outages and breakdowns happening on a daily basis, Mr Bowen said.</p> <p>"It's a recipe for blackouts to keep ageing coal-fired power stations in the grid for longer," he said.</p> <p>The coalition is pushing for an end to Australia's nuclear ban but has faced opposition from states.</p> <p>Nuclear power doesn't stack up for Australian families or businesses, Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest said on Friday.</p> <p>"As our national science agency has shown, 'firmed' solar and wind are the cheapest new electricity options for all Australians," he said in a statement.</p> <p>"The cost of electricity generated on a grid dominated by firmed renewable energy in 2030 will be half what you would have to pay if it came from nuclear, CSIRO found."</p> <p>Mr Forrest, who is a big player in the non-fossil fuels energy market, said that without continued action on "low-cost, high-efficiency renewable energy" Australians will be left with "pricier power and crumbling coal stations".</p> <p>"We must never forget - Australia has the best renewable resources in the world," he added.</p> <p>"Seizing these Australian opportunities must be our shared national goal."</p> <p>https://citynews.com.au/2024/coal-would-work-harder-longer-under-duttons-nuclear-plan/</p> </body>