A Sydney Harbour’s price of additional water can be wanted every year by the Coalition’s proposed nuclear reactors, in response to federal authorities evaluation that opens a brand new entrance within the political battle over Peter Dutton’s signature vitality coverage.
After focusing most of their assaults on the financial arguments in opposition to nuclear, Labor will pivot on Thursday to warn of great implications for water provide, significantly in regional communities.
Nuclear reactors require substantial quantities of water for cooling, with estimates displaying a 1,600MW facility consumes roughly 2,000 litres a second.
New authorities evaluation equipped to Guardian Australia suggests the Coalition’s plan to interchange retired coal-fired energy stations with nuclear energy crops would require an extra 508,000 megalitres – roughly the equal quantity of Sydney Harbour – every year.
The local weather change and vitality minister, Chris Bowen, and the atmosphere minister, Tanya Plibersek, challenged the Coalition to elucidate the place in a “drought-stricken” nation the water could be sourced.
“Where will the water come from and who will pay for it? Will farmers foot the bill? Or are they going to leave communities without a reliable drinking water supply? What happens during drought?” Plibersek mentioned.
“It [nuclear] is too slow, too expensive, puts up bills – and will put people’s access to water at risk.”
Bowen mentioned water was the “most precious” useful resource in Australia.
“Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world – and due to climate change it’s only going to get drier,” he mentioned.
“Peter Dutton needs to find a Sydney Harbour-sized reservoir of water every year to keep his nuclear reactors stable and running.”
The Nationals chief, David Littleproud, had beforehand rejected an identical assault from Labor, insisting provides could be restricted to the present water entitlements for the coal crops.
The brand new evaluation was primarily based on a number of assumptions, beginning with a 2018 Australian Nationwide College examine that steered nuclear energy crops use 1.4 instances as a lot water as coal-fired energy stations.
The six coal-powered plant places within the nationwide vitality market earmarked for a nuclear reactor beneath the Coalition’s plan produce 48 terawatt hours of electrical energy every year, consuming 168,000 megalitres of water.
The Frontier Economics modelling underpinning Dutton’s plan forecast nuclear would greater than double the output to 104 terawatt hours, subsequently requiring greater than twice the amount of water, in response to the federal government.
The federal government’s evaluation multiplied its projected water quantity determine by 1.4, producing the 508,000 megalitre sum.
The federal government has additionally famous that two of the proposed nuclear websites – Port Augusta in South Australia and Collie in Western Australia – would not have current water licences.
The water provide evaluation is the most recent analysis Labor has deployed to assault the Coalition’s nuclear ambition.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, in December warned the opposition’s plan would trigger a $4tn hit to the nationwide economic system by 2050.
That determine was primarily based on an assumption that the electrical energy grid could be smaller beneath the Coalition’s most popular path to web zero.
