Australia must keep coal and nuclear options open says Canavan

Australia must build like-for-like power stations to replace its retiring coal-fired fleet, says Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate Matt Canavan. And while Australia may not be ready to say 'yes' to nuclear power plants, he believes the nation should start investing in nuclear know-how today so that it can keep the nuclear option open for the near future. The Queensland Senator and former federal resources minister spoke on the subject in Townsville yesterday at a MITEZ (Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Development Zone) meeting. It came as EnergyAustralia announced the 1480 MW Yallourn power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley would be going offline in mid-2028 instead of 2032. Senator Canavan said the nation needed additional investment in baseload power to replace the power that had left the system over the past decade. "A predictable cycle has been followed," he said. "Subsidised renewables enter the system, creating an oversupply of power and pushing down the price. "Eventually large baseload power stations shut down, causing a lack of power when renewables don't work (about 80 per cent of time for solar and 70 per cent for wind). Prices then skyrocket to well above where they were before we introduced the renewables." Senator Matt Canavan. He said there was a need for 'like-for-like' power stations to replace the coal-fired power ones - power stations that could work 24 hours a day. "They can not be dole bludgers, like renewables, and just turn up to work whenever they choose," Senator Canavan said. "The government is promising to build a gas-fired power station in the Hunter but New South Wales has no gas, and in any case Australia has become a high-cost gas producer thanks to the banning of fracking in much of the country. "We have lots of coal, and I continue to call for the building of clean coal-fired power stations that use Australia's high-quality coal. China is building 92 of these, why can't we just build a few? "Yet we don't want to rely too much on coal either. We have the world's largest reserves of uranium yet we are one of the few developed countries without a nuclear power station." Build nuclear skills base before it's too late Australia should look seriously at nuclear as an option to replace its ageing coal-fired power fleet, he said. "Even before we decide whether or not to build we should start as soon as we can on developing the skills and technology to do it if we choose to," Senator Canavan said. "It will be too late in 10 years if we then say 'geez, I wish we could build a nuclear power station'. We should give future Australians a nuclear option by starting the work today. "That is why myself and other Nationals Senators will move amendments to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation so that we remove the bans on nuclear technology and power. "Now this won't allow us to build a nuclear power station straight away - other legislation bans nuclear power. But we should invest in nuclear technology today so that we are ready to adopt the latest nuclear developments if we choose to in the future." .

Australia must keep coal and nuclear options open says Canavan

Industry Queensland

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