Sunday, December 6, 2009

Why Nuclear in Australia

Why Nuclear in Australia





  • Renewables have under-analysed costs and impacts. They can't do the job of preserving prosperity.
  • Making an up-front payment now, to have cheap reliable energy later is the best way to use the wealth from the mining boom.
    • We need to bring in "stuff" to balance the "stuff" going out. If we don't bring in infrastructure of future value, then the dollar will rise so that we bring in goods of temporary value while simultaneously destroying our exporters and import-alternatives.
  • Nuclear is the future of world energy. Choosing to sit on the sidelines is a route to economic irrelevance.
  • Energy production uses water. Nuclear Power can be sited near the sea, and produce incidental fresh water. Coal Power is sited near the coal mines in good agricultural land. Geothermal, among other enormous difficulties, is sited in a very dry area.
  • Australia will be the safest place for traditional nuclear power. We have the raw materials for even safer next generation reactors.
  • For energy security we need to electrify because we lack oil. This requires a large increase in the amount of electricity. Coal is not an option. CCS is a fantasy.
  • Natural gas should be conserved for higher priority needs including essential fertiliser and in the future as an alternative transport fuel.
  • Natural gas generates 50% less CO2 than coal, but Nuclear generates none. So, for any given CO2 target, Natural Gas power has twice the impact on the continuing use of Coal power, compared to Nuclear.