Nuclear power has indeed become “politicised”, but this is not the reason Australia has never developed it as a source of electricity (“Pity nuclear energy is powering politics rather than our homes”, October 13). Generations of engineers, scientists and economists have always been technology neutral, but most have concluded that nuclear power in Australia has been much too expensive compared to coal-fired power and compared to renewable sources and associated back-up storage. Other comparable countries have not had such low-cost coal and have higher cost renewables, which is why they began including nuclear power in their systems during the 1950s and 1960s. The government’s decision to set up a parliamentary inquiry into nuclear power is very welcome. The Coalition in government had a similar and related inquiry in 2019. David Hind, Neutral Bay
The world is still sleepwalking into climate and environmental disaster. Microplastics and PFAS are everywhere, including at the top of Everest and the bottom of the oceans, so why would you want to add to the ever-increasing mountains of nuclear waste, the only solution for which is storage onsite at hundreds of sites around the world? Australia doesn’t need to go down the risky nuclear road forced on many European countries, and the contention that “whether nuclear and renewables, or renewables only, a grid will have to be conceived around these logistics” is just naive and misinformed. That grid exists already and just needs more tweaking as generators come and go with new ones connected and old ones decommissioned. It has been thus for the past 150 years or so. As to the idea that, “Jokes aside, France’s issues demonstrate that when modern nuclear power production has problems, they are small and do not bear out the fears of the Chernobyl generation.” Have you heard of Fukushima? Adding more nuclear to the world, let alone Australia, just confirms that we are heading for the dystopian future long portrayed by Hollywood. Peter Kamenyitzky, Castle Hill
As Australia has no developed nuclear industry beyond Lucas Heights for supplying nuclear material for medical purposes, the article is correct in stating “it could be decades before nuclear would come online”. We don’t even make car engines. The conclusion that “Australia would be best served by taking an off-the shelf approach using existing full-scale reactor … and importing teams to build them” is way too premature. Nuclear power advocates consistently fail to consider the existing huge development by households and businesses in installing their own solar power. There is also existing strong growth in Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), also called Local Energy Hubs, or Community Energy Hubs in the Illawarra, Hunter, New England and the Central West for starters. Too many proposers of nuclear power disregard the initiatives that individuals and communities are doing now to reduce energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. Bill Johnstone, Blackheath
Settler mentality
