A plan that is estimated to pump tens of billions of dollars into the South Australian economy and provide the state with free electricity and jobs is being dismissed as an “impossible dream” by a Canberra think tank.
Introduced in 2015 as “the nuclear opportunity,” South Australia Sen. Sean Edwards’ plan would reportedly tap into Asia’s market of spent nuclear fuel. As proposed, South Australia would take ownership of about 60,000 tons of fuel at about AUS $1.4 million per unit over a 20-year period. Edwards claims there’s a way to completely recycle the material while generating zero-carbon electricity, delivering a value of more than AUS $28 billion to the state. Free wholesale power, reduction or elimination of some state taxation, thousands of jobs, and funding for renewable energy initiatives are among the benefits Edwards listed in a September presentation to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.
In a 20-page report released this month, the Australia Institute argued that Edwards’ plan is too good to be true, saying it fails to address 90 percent of the imported waste and claiming only 4,000 tons can be recycled. Author Dan Gilchrist called the plan a Catch-22, as Edwards assumes no other entities will compete for waste disposal projects in Asia. If the plan is a success, the author contended, it will open up competition and result in economic failure. The Institute also said Edwards fails to recognize Australia’s track record for rejecting nuclear waste and assumes that new borehole and small-module technology is feasible.
“With no mature nuclear power or waste industry, holding no monopoly on the technologies needed, and far from potential markets, there is no reason to think that Australia would have a competitive advantage,” the report states. “There is no reason to think that Australians will accept 56,000 tonnes of waste with no costed long-term solution.”
