A Canadian state energy minister has encouraged Australia to adopt nuclear power amid the country’s push towards net zero.
Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith told 2GB radio on Aug. 31 that Canada’s most populated province generated roughly 60 percent of its energy from nuclear, while Canada on the whole generates about 15 percent from nuclear.
When asked about Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowens’ opposition to nuclear power and claims of it being too expensive, Mr. Smith said Ontario’s situation proved otherwise.
“We’re producing our nuclear power for about … 9 or 10 cents a kWh in this province,” Mr. Smith, a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, said.
That translates to about 15 cents/kWh during peak hours of electricity costs to consumers, according to the Ontario Energy Board.
As for prices in Australia, Queensland energy costs about 25 cents/kWh, and New South Wales 28 cents/kWh, according to Canstar.
Largely reliant on coal and other fossil fuels, Australia’s federal Labor government has committed to generating 82 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, with nuclear not on the table. In fact, the country has banned the widespread use of the technology since the 1990s.
The Canada Experience
As for Ontario, Mr. Smith blamed the previous centre-left Liberal government for increasing electricity prices by subsidising wind and solar.Critics of nuclear energy and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) say that the technology has not been proven to be safe and affordable.
Mr. Smith says nuclear has already proven itself as an effective and safe base-load power for the last 60 years.
“So it’s just a smaller, scaled-down version of what we’ve had working here in North America for a long time,” he said in reference to SMRs.
The Ontario government has plans to build the country’s first on-grid and off-grid SMRs and is currently going through approvals.
“In doing so, Ontario is becoming a first mover in the construction of SMRs for commercial use,” says the provincial government.
“Ontario is leading the way on SMR development and deployment to create a clean, reliable energy future across the province and around the world,” they said on their website.
They say SMRs are significantly smaller and more flexible than conventional nuclear reactors, generating between two and 300 megawatts of electricity for a small city or village.
“In comparison, a conventional nuclear reactor can generate 600 to 1,000 megawatts of electricity or more, which can provide power for a large city,” says the government.
As for Australia’s power generating plans, solar and wind seem to be the way.
A CSIRO report from last year claims that renewables are the cheapest form of energy, suggesting the price of batteries will also eventually drop.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said in the report that Australia needed to put downward pressure on energy costs by investing in solar and wind.
“The status of nuclear energy has not changed in this year’s report. After extensive consultation it concludes there is no prospect of any domestic nuclear projects this decade, given the technology’s commercial immaturity and high cost,” Mr. Bowen said in a press release.
