Download Nuclear power potential in Australia

 Nuclear power potential in Australia
MCA Briefing Note
Ten Key Facts about Nuclear Energy
In light of the renewed calls for an open discussion about the feasibility of nuclear power in Australia, here are 10 key
facts regarding nuclear power and Australia’s relationship with this technology.
1. Nuclear power is a mature and globally deployed power generation technology. There are 436 operable reactors
in 30 countries producing around 11 per cent of global electricity.1
2. There are also 56 countries operating a total of 240 smaller reactors for research and training, materials testing,
radioisotope production for lifesaving nuclear medicine and industrial applications.2 Australia is one of them with
its state of the art OPAL reactor at Lucas Heights.3
3. Despite holding one-third of the world’s reserves of uranium4, Australia is one of a small number of developed
nations without nuclear power in its energy mix. Australia is one of only three of the largest 12 countries in the
OECD (in PPP terms5) which does not have nuclear energy production. One of the other two is Turkey which is in
the process of developing civilian nuclear power.
4. Nuclear energy is economically competitive. The Australian Energy Technology Assessment (AETA) 2013 update
shows nuclear competing with other large generation sources. Out to 2050, AETA ranks gigawatt scale nuclear as
the cheapest dispatchable low-carbon generation on offer in Australia (excluding landfill gas and sugarcane
waste).6 Similarly, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows nuclear energy as very competitive
with alternative sources.7
Source: US Energy Information Administration
5. While developing economies are building large reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) may have significant
potential Australian applications. Between 25 and 300 MW, SMR’s can be air-cooled and don’t need to be sited on
the coast. They can be installed under-ground and do not require external electrical supplies or pumps for
emergency cooling. SMRs are produced in factories and assembled on-site. They can be set up at remote
locations, such as towns at the end of transmission lines, and can produce heat for industrial purposes such as
desalination.8
6. Nuclear power has more public support than many recognise. Polling from South Australia released earlier this
year showed that over two-thirds of respondents were supportive or neutral towards nuclear power.9
7. Subsidies - According to a 2008 study by the US EIA, nuclear power gets federal support worth about $1.59 per
MWh of electricity produced compared with wind power of $23.37 and solar of $24.34 per MWh. Wind and solar
received 15 times as much in federal subsidies as nuclear, while nuclear produced 25 times as much low
emissions energy as the two combined.10 According to the World Nuclear Association, “Nowhere in the world is
nuclear power subsidised per unit of production”.11
8. The IEA’s most recent World Energy Outlook (WEO) presents energy projections to 2040. In the New Policies
case (the IEA’s central case) energy demand is expected to grow by 37 per cent by 2040. In the New Policies
scenario, the nuclear capacity rises by 58 per cent while nuclear power generation and uranium demand each rise
by 89 per cent.12
9. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report released on 1 November 2014
reinforced the need for energy systems to develop all low carbon energy sources. In modelling various scenarios,
it states that scenarios likely to limit warming include:
more rapid improvements in energy efficiency and a tripling to nearly a quadrupling of the share of zero- and
low-carbon energy supply from renewable energy, nuclear energy and fossil energy with carbon dioxide
capture and storage (CCS), or bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) by the year 2050.13
10. The impact of Fukushima – The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
(UNSCEAR) report released in April 2014 assessed the expected long term health implications on the Japanese
population concluding:
No radiation-related deaths or acute diseases have been observed among the workers and general public
exposed to radiation from the accident….The doses to the general public….are generally low or very low. No
discernible increased incidence of radiation-related health effects are expected among exposed members of
the public or their descendants14
For more information contact:
Daniel Zavattiero, Executive Director – Uranium: [email protected]
3 December 2014
1
World Nuclear Association (WNA), World Nuclear Power Reactors and Uranium Requirements, 1 October 2014
WNA, Research Reactors, March 2014
3
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) website, OPAL Research Reactor
4
Geoscience Australia, Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources, Uranium, Australian Government
5
OECD iLibrary, Economics: Key Tables from OECD, GDP in US dollars at current prices and current PPPs
6
Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, Australian Energy Technology Assessment 2013 Model Update, December 2013, Australian
Government
7
US EIA, Levelized Cost and Levelized Avoided Cost of New Generation Resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2014, April 2014
8
Keith Orchison, The Nuclear Power debate is poised for a revival, 1 December 2014
9
South Australian attitudes on Uranium & Nuclear Power, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy, 7 April 2014
10
Robert Bryce, Power Hungry – The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future, 2010
11
WNA, Energy subsidies and External Costs
12
International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2014
13
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report, 1 November 2014
14
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, 2013 Report, Volume I, Report to the General Assembly, Levels and
effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident
2
after the 2011 great east-Japan earthquake and tsunami