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Why nuclear energy is not worth the risk for Australia

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Why nuclear energy is not worth the risk for Australia

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The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. While we have never had a nuclear power station, we do have 33% of the world’s uranium deposits and we are the world’s third largest producer of it. Periodically, as with the changing of the seasons, various individuals appear in the media singing the virtues of nuclear energy onshore – claiming it is the only option for clean and reliable electricity in Australia. In fact, nuclear power in Australia makes no sense and wasting time and energy debating it is a distraction from genuine climate action.

Why doesn’t nuclear power make sense for Australia?

1. Nuclear power stations can’t be built anywhere in Australia. They are banned in every state, and in every territory. Such bans were introduced because of community concerns about the health and environmental risks. Many parliamentary inquiries at a federal and state level – see this Victorian Inquiry, this Federal Inquiry, and this South Australian Inquiry for instance – have been held into nuclear, and all have concluded that nuclear power makes no sense in Australia.

2. Nuclear power stations are expensive and take too long to build. CSIRO says by far the lowest cost way of producing electricity is with solar and wind even when factoring in storage. In contrast, the costs of building and operating nuclear in Australia remain prohibitively high. Further, analysis conducted by the nuclear industry itself shows nuclear power stations take an average of 9.4 years to build – compared to 1–3 years for a major wind or solar project. Australia needs to replace its ageing coal-fired power stations as quickly as possible, and should be slashing its emissions by 75% this decade. As shown in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan, by far the cheapest and quickest way to do this is to r amp up renewable energy paired with storage like pumped hydro, and batteries.

3. Nuclear power poses significant community, environmental, health and economic risks. Radiation from major nuclear disasters, such as Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011, have impacted hundreds of thousands of people and contaminated vast areas that take decades to clean up. Even when a nuclear power station operates as intended it creates a long-term and prohibitively expensive legacy of site remediation, fuel processing and radioactive waste storage. They are also water hungry – requiring massive quantities of water for ongoing operations.

4. Nuclear power is not renewable. Uranium is a finite resource just like coal, oil and gas. While the operation of a nuclear reactor does not create greenhouse gas emissions, all other parts of producing nuclear power are polluting from mining, to construction, decommissioning and waste management.

Australia is one of the sunniest and windiest countries on earth, with enough renewable energy to power resources to power our country 500 times over. Building large-scale wind and solar projects is the cheapest way of producing electricity here, even when paired with storage. It is also low risk, renewable and non-polluting. The bottom line is – nuclear power is the slowest, most expensive, most dangerous and least flexible form of new power generation for Australia. It makes no sense. So let’s stop wasting time, and get on with building more renewables.

Nuclear Power Plant Isar II, Bavaria, Germany. Photo by Flickr user Brewbooks licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What is a nuclear power station?

Nuclear power stations run on uranium. When the nucleus of a uranium molecule is split inside a reactor, heat is produced. This process is called nuclear fission. The heat produced from this process is used to create steam from water. The steam drives a turbine that powers a generator. The generator creates electricity.

Unlike coal and gas, no greenhouse gas pollution is created in the operation of the nuclear reactor. However, all other steps involved in producing nuclear power – from mining, to construction, decommissioning and waste management – result in greenhouse gas pollution.

Join the Climate Council for more helpful explainers from Australia’s leading climate communicators, straight to your inbox.

Case study: Hinkley Nuclear Power Station, United Kingdom

When this project was first being promoted, the CEO of British energy company EDF Vincent de Rivaz predicted that the Hinkley C nuclear power station could be switched on in 2017. It is currently slated to open in June 2026, almost a decade late even if this extended deadline is met.

Around the same time, the UK government priced the project at 4 billion UK pounds. It is now expected to cost between £22bn and £23bn.

The price for Hinkley’s electricity was fixed in a so-called “strike price” at £92 per megawatt-hour, rising with inflation. This won’t rise, even though the costs of building the project have gone up. However, that is still expensive energy when the latest offshore UK wind farms have agreed to strike prices of less than half that (around £40 per megawatt-hour).

Read more: BBC News

Meeting the climate challenge means taking bold and decisive action this decade with the technologies that are ready to go in Australia today. The significant limitations nuclear energy faces means that there is no real prospect of it playing a role in reducing Australia’s emissions.

By Climate Council  /  18 January 2022

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Nuclear power stations are not appropriate for Australia – and probably never will be | Climate Council

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The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. While we have never had a nuclear power station, we do have 33% of the world’s uranium deposits and we are the world’s third largest producer of it. Periodically, as with the changing of the seasons, variou…

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Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

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Interested in nuclear science? ANSTO is home to Australia’s only nuclear reactor OPAL in Lucas Heights, Sydney. OPAL stands for “Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL)” - OPAL is a state-of-the-art 20 megawatt multi-purpose reactor that uses low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel to achieve a range of nuclear medicine, research, scientific, industrial and production goals.

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Nuclear Power in the World Today - World Nuclear Association

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There are about 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in about 30 countries, with about 390 GWe of total capacity. About 60 more reactors are under construction. Over 50 countries operate a total of about 220 research reactors and a further 180 nuclear reactors power around 140 ships and submarines.

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Multi-million dollar medicine factory to replace Sydney’s nuclear reactor

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Multi-million dollar medicine factory to replace Sydney’s nuclear reactor

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Multi-million dollar medicine factory to replace Sydney’s nuclear reactor | 9 News Australia

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10 Major Nuclear Energy Developments to Watch in 2025

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10 Major Nuclear Energy Developments to Watch in 2025 — Nuclear Business Platform

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Nuclear energy is set for a groundbreaking year in 2025! With SMRs taking center stage, increased investments, and nations like Türkiye and Indonesia embracing nuclear power, the industry is poised for transformative growth. Don’t miss out on these key developments shaping the future of clean energy

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What we know about Australia's only live nuclear reactor

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What we know about Australia's only live nuclear reactor

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What we know about Australia’s only live nuclear reactor

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Australia’s only nuclear reactor opened more than 60 years ago. With nuclear energy production banned, what is it used for?

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5 Ways the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry Is Evolving in 2024

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5 Ways the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry Is Evolving in 2024

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U.S. Sets Targets to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050

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5 Ways the U.S. Nuclear Energy Industry Is Evolving in 2024

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Updates to DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear Report

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Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

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ANSTO’s radioactive waste is a by-product from the production of lifesaving nuclear medicines, and beneficial industrial and research activities.

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About 60 reactors are under construction across the world. A further 110 are planned.

Most reactors under construction or planned are in Asia.

New plants coming online in recent years have largely been balanced by old plants being retired. Over the past 20 years, 107 reactors were retired as 100 started operation.

Today there are about 440 nuclear power reactors operating in 32 countries plus Taiwan, with a combined capacity of about 390 GWe. In 2022 these provided 2545 TWh, about 10% of the world's electricity.

Many countries with existing nuclear power programmes either have plans to, or are building, new power reactors. Every country worldwide that has operating nuclear power plants, or plants under construction, has a dedicated country profile in the Information Library.

About 30 countries are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programmes. For more information see page on Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries.

Nuclear reactors under construction

About 60 power reactors are currently being constructed in 16 countries.
† Latest announced/estimated year of grid connection.
Nuclear reactors planned and proposed

About 90 power reactors with a total gross capacity of about 90 GWe are planned, and over 300 more are proposed*. Most reactors currently planned are in countries in Asia, characterized by fast-growing economies and rapidly-rising electricity demand.

* Planned = Approvals, funding or commitment in place, mostly expected to be in operation within the next 15 years.
Proposed = Specific programme or site proposals; timing very uncertain.

† Under Construction figures include a number of units where construction is currently suspended: Angra 3 (Brazil); Ohma 1 and Shimane 3 (Japan); Khmelnitski 3&4 (Ukraine).

Notes & references

General sources

International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2023
World Nuclear Association, World Nuclear Performance Report 2023

Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries
World Nuclear Power Reactors and Uranium Requirements
Nuclear Power in the World Today

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Nuclear power capacity worldwide is increasing steadily. Most reactors under construction are in the Asian region. Significant further capacity is being created by plant uprating.

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17 little-known facts about the Fukushima nuclear accident

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17 little-known facts about the Fukushima nuclear accident

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17 little-known facts about the Fukushima nuclear accident - Les Voix du Nucléaire

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Pour la reconnaissance du nucléaire dans la transition énergétique