“We do not have nuclear as part of that plan moving forward,” she said.
Loading
At least half of the remaining coal-fired generators on Australia’s eastern seaboard are scheduled to shut in the next 10 years, while the share of renewable energy continues to grow. Wind, solar and hydroelectricity now account for more than 40 per cent of the grid’s average energy mix.
But there are growing concerns in the industry that the rollout of renewable generation and storage projects and the transmission lines to link them to major cities is still falling short of the pace required to close those generators on schedule without raising the risk of price spikes or blackouts. There are also worries that investment is falling short of the levels necessary to keep Australia’s 2030 climate targets within reach.
“We are at a critical point in the transition,” McKenzie said.
The Albanese government has set targets to double the share of renewable energy to 82 per cent of the grid and achieve a 43 per cent emissions cut by 2030. Ahead of the next federal election, the Coalition is campaigning to cut short that target, and instead build up to seven nuclear power plants to achieve Australia’s longer-term ambition of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050.
Loading
However, the opposition leader’s pitch for nuclear – an emissions-free source of continuous power – as the solution to the country’s energy needs has encountered significant setbacks. Many industry leaders, experts and top energy officials have cautioned it is a “comparatively expensive” power source that would take too long to deploy locally, rendering it an impractical solution to the grid’s most pressing needs.
Research from the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this year concluded that country’s first nuclear plant would cost up to $16 billion, and suggested the Coalition’s claim it could build one by the mid-2030s was overly optimistic. Rather, the research said, the first nuclear plant would not likely be operational until at least 2040.
AGL chief executive Damien Nicks on Wednesday said the company had nearly doubled its pipeline of potential future renewable energy and firming projects to 6.2 gigawatts over the past financial year. Among these are the Pottinger Energy Park, which is expected to include a wind and solar farm and a four-hour grid-scale battery, and a planned 400-megawatt, eight-hour pumped hydro project in Muswellbrook.