UPDATED: Australian Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, unveiled his nuclear energy today at a press conference.
At the conference, Dutton said the plan will underpin the economic success of the country for the next century.
“This will make electricity reliable, it will make it more consistent, it’ll make it cheaper for Australians, and it will help us decarbonise as a trading economy, as we must,” he said.
“The fact is that we can deliver a plan which is going to keep the lights on and we have a plan and a vision for our country which will help grow businesses – not close them down, as is currently happening under this Government.
“So, we deliver a plan today which will get the energy mix right, it will lower costs, it will keep the lights on, and it will set our country up for generations to come.”
How the Coalition's nuclear enegry plan works:
- Cost and savings: The plan, modelled by Frontier Economics, estimates a cost of $331 billion, which is $263 billion less than Labor's renewable transition plan.
- Coal power extension: Existing coal-fired power stations will be kept operational for longer before being replaced by nuclear plants.
- Nuclear plants: The plan includes building seven publicly owned nuclear plants across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
- Energy mix: By 2050, the energy mix will consist of 54% renewables, 38% nuclear, and 8% storage and gas.
Nationals leader David Littleproud added that the plan would not only make energy cheaper for Australia, but also provide jobs for regional Australians and align with other strategies in the world.
“This is about legacy – this is about leaving a legacy for generations to come in making sure we have that reliable power,” Littleproud said.
“There is no country on the industrial scale of the size of Australia that has gone down an all-renewables approach.
“We should have an energy industry in regional Australia that provides jobs.”
In a media release, the coalition said that the plan would save tax payers and businesses around 44%.
“The latest analysis from Frontier Economics reveals the Coalition’s balanced energy mix, including zero-emissions nuclear power, offers a cheaper, cleaner, and more consistent alternative, delivering massive savings for Australian families and businesses,” the media release said.
The Liberal leader unveiled his strategy that he insists will be $263 billion cheaper than Labor’s policy, which Frontier estimated is around $600 billion. Labor disputes this cost.
"Only the Coalition's energy plan delivers a cheaper, cleaner, and consistent future for Australian households and businesses while protecting our environment and securing the energy Australians rely on," Dutton said.
The plan would see nuclear replace some of the power generation Labor proposed to meet with renewables.
Under the plan, Dutton has pledged to build seven publicly-owned nuclear power plants across the country.
This would mean renewables would make up just over half of Australia’s energy grid by 2050, with nuclear accounting for just under 40% with the rest being a combination of storage and gas.
This differs from Labor's plan to have a grid firmed by just over 80% renewable energy by 2030.
Dutton said that Nuclear would provide the “always-on” power to back up renewables and lead to cheaper power bills in the long run.
The CSIRO and AEMO released the GenCost 2024-25 Report, which found renewable energy sources are the lowest-cost of any new-build electricity generating technology and that nuclear was significantly more expensive.
Earlier in the year, the plan had also received backlash from climate groups.