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EdF, which is now fully government owned after facing potential bankruptcy due to delays and massive cost over-runs at its latest generation large scale nuclear plants, had reportedly been working on a new design for SMRs for the last four years. Tim Buckley, from Climate and Energy Finance, seized on the news and called on Opposition leader Peter Dutton and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien to provide more details of their nuclear plans beyond the one page press release they released last month. “Come’on guys, how naive do you take the average Australian voter for?” Buckley wrote. “In your alternate fact world, who do you think will pay for the permanent around 50% increase in Australian energy prices for consumers? Are you really intent on destroying the international competitiveness of Australian industry purely in the service of your fossil fuel funders?” Read more

Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance, questioned how a form of energy that would produce “zero” electricity for the next 15 to 20 years, could bring down power prices. In the meantime, the Coalition’s plan would undermine investor confidence so Australia didn’t get as much electricity supply from other sources, Buckley said. “Less supply means higher prices — that’s economics 101.” He believes the Coalition’s nuclear strategy could increase electricity prices by 20-50 per cent over the next decade because of the need for more government intervention and funding to extend the life of coal plants. Buckley said the GenCost report — produced by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO — found power from nuclear could also be double the price of firmed renewables. “Therefore power prices go up, not down,” he said. Read more

As Tim Buckley an Annemarie Jonson argue in this op ed, the LNP’s egregious $100bn+ taxpayer funded nuclear hoax is fiscal irresponsibility of the highest order, designed to disrupt and delay the accelerating renewables transition, as it does catastrophic damage to surging investor confidence in Australia’s firmed renewables rollout and trashes our Paris commitments. Read more

In the West Australian, Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley said the CSIRO’s modelling of costs to build nuclear reactors was conservative, estimating the capital cost of the entire project at between $80 billion and $100 billion. “On top of that, you’re looking at $30 billion to $50 billion for the rehabilitation in 60 years time when they have to be decommissioned, another $10 billion for upgrades and refurbishments in 30 years’ time,” he said. Read more

In The Nightly: Peter Dutton’s plan to turn Australia nuclear by 2050 could carry a price tag of $100 billion, according to experts opposed to his proposal while others argue the energy source will provide “low-cost solutions” for customers. Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley said he was of the view the CSIRO had been conservative, suggesting Australian taxpayers were likely to be hit with a minimum $80b to $100b in capital costs for the entire project. Read more

Syndicated across News Corp mastheads nationally including all regional sites in QLD: Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley has hit out at the Coalition government for providing little information when revealing its nuclear energy plan.Mr Buckley said his best cost estimate for the Coalition government’s nuclear energy plan following the CSIRO GenCost report would be $100 billion. “It’s a rather large number to not have any facts on,” Mr Buckley said. “For the shadow energy minister to spend a year building a detailed analysis of the federal opposition energy and climate strategy and provide rather limited facts, rather limited details – a one-page flyer really doesn’t cut it when you’re talking about a $100 billion of public money being invested. It’s a little bizarre that Ted O’Brien’s announcing this policy without any facts.” Read more

Tim Buckley’s Sky News interview excoriating the LNP’s nuclear con is embedded in this feature on the Australian by its Canberra Bureau Chief and Political Editor summarising responses from a broad range of thought leaders Read more

Tim Buckley demolishes the Coalition’s fact-free nuclear press release on Sky News AM Agenda Read more

While the Coalition has failed to release any detail or costings, today we have confirmation that if it gets into office, Australians will be paying a mult-billion dollar “nukebuilder” tax for generations to come for a national build out of government-owned nuclear reactors across seven locations, including on the sites of former coal-fired power stations. It beggars belief that opposition leader Peter Dutton proposes nationalising a nuclear public debt bomb and detonating it at the heart of energy policy in this country. Read more

Tim Buckley, director of think tank Climate Energy Finance, said Australians would be paying “a multi-billion dollar ‘nukebuilder’ tax for generations to come by being forced to front the cash for a national buildout of government-owned nuclear reactors”. “Electricity prices would skyrocket as private investment in new replacement capacity is crowded out, resulting in undersupply for the next 15-25 years while we wait for the LNP’s nuclear white elephants to arrive,” Buckley said. Read more

Syndicated in News Corp state based mastheads across Australia – Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley says Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s plan to use nuclear energy is “financially illogical”. Read more

Director of think tank Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley says nuclear is “financially illogical” and is about extending “climate wars”. Mr Buckley told Sky News the proposed plan announced today does little to address the current climate challenges, and the infrastructure delivery plan is not commercially viable. “We have no nuclear capacity in Australia,” he said. “We don’t have the workforce, and we can’t afford the 20+ year delay (opposition leader) Peter Dutton is proposing today.” {scroll down to 4:06pm post at link). Read more