Attitudes toward Nuclear have Improved in Australia

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 02/15/16

Simon Evans, of the Sydney Morning Herald, reports that nuclear power advocates are hoping the recommendations of a Royal Commission by a retired State Governor will give fresh impetus for uranium-rich Australia to develop a nuclear industry, with a focus on hi-tech storage of spent nuclear fuel rods and other waste, and small-version, modular nuclear reactors. Kevin Scarce, who was Governor of South Australia for 7 years until 2014, will unveil the preliminary findings of his Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission after 128 witnesses and almost 12 months of investigations both locally and overseas into whether the state should expand into nuclear enrichment, storage of waste and power generation. There is speculation that he may highlight the future economic benefits of a hi-tech nuclear waste storage facility being set up in the state, and that a small, modular nuclear reactor may help the state industries through the provision of lower cost, clean energy, but the economics will need to stack up for private operators to build them. Melbourne businessman Ron Walker told Fairfax Media the time is right for Australia to embrace a nuclear industry both from an economic growth viewpoint and in the increasing shift to clean energy. The boss of BHP Billiton Olympic Dam mine, which contains the world largest uranium deposit, said the economics of a future nuclear industry in South Australia would need to stack up before any decision by the state was made to pursue an expansion. Jacqui McGill, the asset president of Olympic Dam, 560 kilometers north of Adelaide, said that a hard-headed economic analysis was needed on what was the best economic outcome for the state for each stage of the nuclear supply chain. He said he was trying to make the best estimates of what might be happening decades ahead. PM Malcolm Turnbull gave fresh momentum to the nuclear debate in late October when he said he was once skeptical on nuclear power generation, but no longer.