The Coalition recently announced it would establish a civil nuclear programme in Australia and build seven zero-emissions nuclear power plants on the sites of former or current coal plants.
“The target of net zero by 2050 is important and Australia must play its role, but we also need to ensure we have cheap and reliable energy to power our industries, strengthen our economy and secure jobs for the future,” Mr Birrell said.
“The dual ambition of reaching net zero, which is important for climate abatement, and ensuring Australia remains a globally competitive economy, which is important for prosperity and security, requires bold thinking and an ‘all technology on table’ approach.
“Nicholls is a processing and manufacturing powerhouse, but it was built on having access to cheap and reliable power, something the all-renewables path being pursued by the Albanese Government cannot deliver.”
Mr Birrell forecast that nuclear would replace the baseload power currently provided by coal, eliminating the emissions but retaining the strength of Australia’s supply network.
He said modern nuclear power plants with the latest technology were incredibly safe and would connect directly to existing poles and wires.
“Labor’s renewables rollout risks major damage to rural environments with an additional 28,000km of power lines and a proliferation of large-scale solar and wind projects,” he said.
“Renewables must be a part of our energy mix but for every megawatt hour of electricity produced, wind requires 360 times more land and solar 75 times more land than nuclear.
“By reducing impacts on our landscape, zero emissions nuclear will not only protect regional communities, but our environment and wildlife.”
Mr Birrell said nuclear plants had a typical lifespan of 80 to 100 years while solar and wind needed to be replaced around every 20 years.
“The renewable energy replacement cost, and recycling or disposal of millions of tonnes solar and wind waste, will factor into future energy costs,” Mr Birrell said.
“Of course, there are many issues to work through in relation to cost, safety and design.
“But big thinking to resolve big problems requires our nation to engage in a mature discussion — and I am disappointed that so far that is not what I have seen from a number of Labor MPs.”
