Federal nuclear plan for the Eastern States is the only way to address climate change at a cost the community can afford

The Western Australian Shadow Minister for Energy Dr Steve Thomas says the Federal Opposition’s plan for nuclear energy in the eastern states is the only way to address climate change if they want to keep industry operating and keep the lights on in the future.

“I welcome the announcement today from my federal colleagues that addresses the disastrous state of the National Electricity Market that covers the eastern states” Dr Thomas said.

“If anybody wants an example of how not to manage energy, you would hard pressed to find a better bad example than the state of Victoria today.

“The best part of the announcement today is the acknowledgement that while the National Energy Market needs nuclear generation, it also needs a “balanced energy mix” in a plan that “responsibly integrates renewables”  while “increasing large-scale solar and wind”.

“The Frontier Economics report that underpins today’s announcement was an analysis of the eastern state’s National Energy Market, and did not include specific analysis of the energy system in Western Australia” Dr Thomas said.

“Frontier Economics has said the conclusions would also apply to Western Australia so I will spend some time examining how much of the study can be applied to WA.

“I have repeatedly said I am not frightened of nuclear energy in this state as long as it stacks up economically and has community acceptance. There is still a long way to go in this debate however, with decisions on locations and projects still some years away.

“The original federal announcement says there will be two “establishment projects” built by the mid 2030’s in the first instance, which look to me like plants to test the effectiveness of the proposal” Dr Thomas said.

“It makes obvious sense to me that the first two plants would be built in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in the eastern states, where the power grid is both much larger and much further in crisis.

“This is supported by the fact that the larger nuclear units are currently much more economically viable, and in Western Australia gas is both the transition fuel to a lower emissions future and a vital ongoing part of that future” Dr Thomas said.

“Today’s announcement backs up the State Liberal Energy Policy I announced back in May.”