We cookie-cut them in Canberra.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says a Coalition government will build more gas-fired power stations to firm up renewable energy, in addition to his proposed seven nuclear power stations, the details of which will be unveiled next week.
Speaking amid a campaign-style blitz on Labor seats this week, Mr Dutton confirmed the Coalition’s modelling will say nuclear power is cheaper over the long run than Labor’s plans to achieve 82 per cent renewable energy in the grid by 2030.
Despite his pledge to veto three of six proposed offshore wind farms, he said renewable energy would remain an important part of the energy mix, and that would require gas peaking plants as back-up.
The previous Coalition government commissioned a new gas peaking plant at Kurri Kurri near Newcastle, and Mr Dutton said more would be needed, given coal would disappear from the system before nuclear came online.
“If we’re going to keep the lights on, and we’re going to have stability in the network, then we do need reliable baseload power because on current projections, 90 per cent of baseload power goes out of the system by 2034,” he told radio 2HD.
Let’s unpack this.
- Nuclear power is not cheaper. It is much more expensive.
- If Hunter NIMBYs don’t want offshore wind, do we really think they will want to be in a nuclear blast radius?
- We need around 26 coal peakers to back up renewables. However, the Kurri Kurri plant is not even connected to the gas pipeline grid. It trucks in gas. Labor kept it going as a pilot for green hydrogen, of which there is none.
- Gas peakers won’t keep the lights on if they can’t afford the gas to put in them. The gas export cartel must smashed first.
What we are dealing with here is a political lunatic asylum in control of giant power assets and the national credit card.
It is going wrong in every possible way.
