Clean energy for Australia: the elegant solution

In any case high nuclear costs could well be temporary. As recently as 2010 I worked with two colleagues on a meta-review of 25 authoritative peer-reviewed studies published after 2000 on the levelized costs of electricity generating technologies [M Nicholson, T Biegler, BW Brook, Energy (Elsevier) Volume 36, January 2011, pages 305-313]. A set of fit-for-service criteria was used to select qualifying technologies. Carbon pricing was built into the model.

The results? Nuclear was cheapest. And solar and wind did not make the cut for evaluation. They cannot meet typical fit-for-service standards. Alone, they cannot provide reliable dispatchable power. None of this is news.

Nuclear energy is the elegant solution to cutting carbon emissions. It should have been adopted as soon as it was clear that coal generation was headed for closure. It's too late for that now. But the solution that was adopted is failing and not working as claimed. Steps should immediately begin to enable that first decision to be reversed. It's certainly not too late.

Elegance will win out. Just look at the electric car.