PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has welcomed a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy into nuclear fuel technology in Australia, saying it was an important step in the overdue and rigorous assessment of nuclear power in Australia.

The report - entitled Not Without Your Approval - follows a parliamentary inquiry that saw the Committee travel across Australia over recent months taking evidence and assessing over 300 submissions on the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia.

The report identifies a clear pathway for Australia to properly consider nuclear energy by addressing knowledge gaps in Australia about this important energy source, while also acknowledging the critical role for community engagement on what is a contentious policy and political issue.

“Australia should say a definite ‘No’ to old nuclear technologies but a conditional ‘Yes’ to new and emerging technologies such as small modular reactors,” said Ted O’Brien, committee chairperson.

“And most importantly, the Australian people should be at the centre of any approval process.

“If we’re serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we can’t simply ignore this zero-emissions baseload technology. But we also need to be humble enough to learn lessons from other countries who have gone down this path,” said O’Brien.

“It’s as much about getting the technology right as it is about maintaining a social licence based on trust and transparency.”

The MCA pointed out that despite being the only energy source capable of providing safe, low cost, zero emission baseload power, which provides 10% of the world’s electricity and 75% in countries like France, nuclear energy has been banned in Australia for the past 20 years.

“By focusing on evolving technologies like Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which will emerge within the next decade, the report outlines what is needed for Australia to take advantage of an important energy source capable of meeting the energy needs of Australian industry and households,” said MCA CEO Tania Constable.

She noted that SMRs should be considered as a potential replacement for retiring coal baseload plants. 

“Not only are they capable of complementing intermittent power sources, they can safely meet large-scale industrial demand for affordable and reliable power.

“More broadly, the current bans mean Australia – with the world’s largest deposits of uranium – is missing out on a potential industry which could employ tens of thousands Australians with high paying jobs, mostly in regional areas.

“The relentless and baseless scare campaign waged against nuclear power for the past forty years is fundamentally anti-scientific. This campaign is also at odds with the recognition by the International Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency of the importance of nuclear power in reducing emissions in a world where the energy demand is increasing,” Constable said.