Comments attributable to Dan Cass, Executive Director, Rewiring Australia:
“Some countries that are small, cold, and with higher population density and minimal solar and wind resources will need nuclear to replace fossil fuels – but Australia has literally the opposite population and geographical characteristics.
“Australia committed to a nuclear power plant in Jervis Bay in 1971 then cancelled it because it was too expensive. Nuclear has become even more expensive even without fully addressing the safety and waste issues. It is extremely unlikely to be part of a lowest cost system and almost certainly won’t be built by 2040 when we need to have eliminated the majority of emissions.
“Electrification is the affordable, ready-to-go, clean energy solution that communities want and governments must get behind. We’ve seen the Queensland Government yesterday recognise this with their positive move to create a ‘Local Renewable Energy Zone’, which is the kind of future-proof initiative that maximises cheap locally produced solar, and is something Rewiring Australia wants to see more of.
“Nuclear, on the other hand, is an uneconomic, unwanted fantasy.”
Comments attributable to Kushla Gale, a southeast Queensland resident who lives an hour from the Coalition’s proposed Tarong nuclear facility and is volunteering to help her community electrify:
“The idea of a water-hungry nuclear plant in drought-prone southeast Queensland is ludicrous.
“Our community wants cheaper energy bills and a future that isn’t subject to more extreme weather events. Electrifying our homes and businesses with renewable energy and storage is the clear way to cheaper bills and lower emissions.”
