The head of the Climate Change Authority has contradicted the claim of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton that renewables and nuclear power can be 'companions not competitors', a claim that suggests a commitment to nuclear power will not derail the current transition to renewable energy.
Matt Kean is a former NSW Liberal energy minister and Treasurer, appointed by the Albanese government to chair the Climate Change Authority (CCA) earlier this year.
The Authority is due to make a recommendation to the government next month on what Australia's 2035 emissions reduction target would be.
Mr Kean committed to making that target public.
On Monday, Mr Dutton spelt out some of his arguments in favour of nuclear energy, though he continues to decline to outline its cost.
Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is keen to take Australia into nuclear power. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
The Opposition leader conceded on Monday that the upfront costs would be substantial but would ultimately prove cheaper than the cost of a transition to renewables, which he said was up to $1.5 trillion, partly because of the need to rewire the electricity system.
However, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has repeatedly quoted "the best guide to the cost" of the transition scheme being overseen by Labor was the Australian Energy Market Operator's "integrated systems plan", which he said "looked at the total cost out to 2050 of the entire generation, storage and transmission and came up at $121 billion".
Asked on 7.30 whether nuclear had a role to play in Australia's best energy mix, Mr Kean said that in the CCA's recent review of pathways to net zero, "the CSIRO clearly set out the pathway to transition our electricity system and meet our commitments, international and domestic commitments, was renewables that are firmed up with technologies like batteries and storage."
"That's the pathway that's been set out by the CSIRO that's backed up by the Australian Energy Market Operator," Mr Kean said.
"They're the engineers who run our energy system, so we'll listen to the advice of the experts.
"And they clearly say the cheapest and most effective way to transition our electricity system is renewables that are backed up by firming."
In a speech in Sydney Mr Dutton said that "Labor tells you that renewables and nuclear can't work together. It's utter nonsense".
Mr Kean said the advice from experts differed and that the UK's attempt to build a power plant showed just how difficult a transition to nuclear can be.
Questions are raised when it comes to the proposed cost of nuclear power for Australia. (Reuters: Benoit Tessier)
"I think the advice from the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator is very different. We know that nuclear technology is not flexible to work with renewables, so therefore it isn't the best technology to support renewables," he told 7.30.
"We also know that it will take a long time to build nuclear capacity.
"Australia doesn't have a nuclear industry. We don't have the workforce that's ever done this before and the best example to look to is what's happening in the UK, another democracy that is currently building a nuclear power plant.
"That's the Hinckley Point C power plant. That process to begin that build started in 2007. It was scheduled to be completed in 2012. It now won't be turned on until 2028. That's over 20 years.
"The original price tag of that was $5.5 billion. The price tag now is the equivalent of $86 billion by 2028 so we can't afford to wait 20 years. It will be hugely expensive for taxpayers, and it will also be hugely expensive for electricity consumers."
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