The Coalition’s plan for seven publicly funded nuclear power plants across Australia, including in the Hunter, would lift power bills for average households by $665 a year, according to an Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report.
Electricity could cost up to 3.8 times the current price in eastern Australia, as researchers say the findings are likely underestimated. “Australia has very limited nuclear capability… so Australia could see even higher bills than what our study shows.”
The findings confirm that Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy pipe dream is resoundingly financially unviable in addition to being widely unpopular. A survey by ACM earlier this year showed 75% of coastal-regional voters oppose nuclear infrastructure in their communities. Comparably, 71% of Australians support investment in renewable energy, according to a recent Renew Australia for All survey.
Despite this, the Coalition is continuing their campaign and disingenuously positioning nuclear as an “alternative” to renewable energy projects, including Hunter offshore wind. If elected, the Coalition’s ruthless market intervention plan will devastate renewable energy projects across Australia and drastically prolong coal and gas reliance, as well as costing the public up to half a trillion dollars in funding, endangering workers, and producing toxic nuclear waste with no storage plan.
