Australia could be contemplating nuclear power in as little as four years, according to Energy Minister Martin Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson said he intended to press on with the government’s efforts to develop and commercialise other clean sources of baseload power, but nuclear technology was proven, available and evolving constantly.
The minister held talks in Washington last week with US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, just before Barack Obama highlighted developments in nuclear research as he used his State of the Union address to outline his commitment to provide 80 per cent of US electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
“Some folks want wind and solar,” the US President told congress. “Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas.
“To meet this goal, we will need them all.”
In a webchat after the address, Dr Chu described himself as a “big fan” of new and more flexible nuclear technology.
Mr Ferguson said nuclear power was making great strides.
“It is a proven clean-energy technology,” he told The Australian yesterday. “In a very short period, it will get cheaper.
“Countries such as Korea, China and France are absolutely focused on progress, not just in the best technology options but also megawatt capacity that creates a range of options not just for large cities but mid-sized.”
Mr Ferguson said the government’s own clean energy strategy was his first priority, but he was also “very much focused on what is happening outside Australia”. “Other countries are making the progress in nuclear opportunities that we have to make in terms of our own clean energy,” he said.
“If those clean-energy options are not proven to be viable commercially … there will be a far more seriously focused nuclear debate in Australia.
“If we don’t make the breakthrough in the period 2015-2020, then what is the alternative for Australia?
“It doesn’t matter if it’s carbon capture and storage being viable, geothermal, solar thermal or whatever.”
Mr Ferguson backed the right of Labor members to debate the nuclear power issue at the party’s national conference in December. “Open discussion is good for the party.”
