Challenges and Development of Nuclear Energy in Australia

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ABSTRACT
It has been challenging task for Australia to completely meet the ever increasing demand of
energy while there is rapid growth of its economy. Although the prices of fossil fuels, coal and
oil has been volatile in the past, the trend of pricing in Australia has been demonstrating
persistence in rise. This is further exacerbated by the resources of natural gas which gets depleted
with time. These two effects cumulatively heighten the energy needs of Australia. Australia
currently mitigates her energy needs or requirements predominantly through handful of coal,
natural gas which is supplemented by handful of coal. Consequently, as a result of natural gas
scarcity, scarcity of coal and oil, nuclear power is regarded as a strategic option palatable for the
future agenda of development for Australia. However, any successful power program of nuclear
source which is very extensive. Just like other countries that utilize nuclear energy sources, the
challenges of addressing security as well as health status of the reactors will be given too much
attention.
In addition to that, the questions that still arise include whether or not the project of nuclear
power plant receives some support from the mass community? What are the policies or
approaches for the disposal of nuclear wastes? Whether the enterprises in place are sufficient for
the generation of nuclear energy or Australia should focus on the renewable sources of energy
for production of power? This paper appraises the development of nuclear energy in Australia.

Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................................................5
The Condition of the Current Nuclear Power Development in Australia.................................................5
Wholesale Electricity in Australia............................................................................................................8
Other Competing Energy Sources..........................................................................................................14
The gas...............................................................................................................................................14
METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................................................................15
Demand Drivers.....................................................................................................................................16
Nuclear..................................................................................................................................................19
Major Challenges to be addressed while Developing Nuclear power in Australia.................................25
Legal and Regulatory concerns..........................................................................................................25
Reactor Safety measures via Technological Means...............................................................................26
Treatment of Nuclear Waste.................................................................................................................26
Concern on Nuclear Material security...................................................................................................27
The future consideration on electricity.................................................................................................28
Transition plan and nuclear energy relevance...................................................................................33
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................36
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................38
APPENDIX..................................................................................................................................................41

INTRODUCTION
Acquisition of high quality electricity that is considered to be affordable, of high quality and
is capable of meeting both industrial and commercial energy demands has been considered one
of the key pillars of success or prosperity by the Australian government. Most of the energy
sources in Australia historically for the supply of electricity were mainly gas and coal driven.
Currently the renewable sources of energy that has been utilized by Australia include
geothermal, solar, ocean, wind, and bioenergy and hydro- electric power. In the near future, a
mix supply of energy in Australia will have to be addressed to generate large amounts of fossil
fuels for economic benefits of the Australian residents(Edwards, Othman and Burn 2015).
The factors that Australia power sector has to consider in order to do away with the huge
losses of energy that occurs at the grid and to attain their objectives will include the means of
increasing low emission and further diversity in the supply of energy. The consistent rise in the
prices of the fossil fuels like coal and oil coupled with of reserves of natural gas is an indication
of the struggle by Australia for the demands of energy. In the recent set up, the supply of energy
in the country is through natural gas. Very few energy sources are taken coal and oil which are
already feeble as far as the energy supply is concerned.
Australian engineers have realized the importance of renewable sources of energy
advancement as there are some future glimpsing developments and the existing competition in

this field which will automatically results into production of apparently more economical and
efficient way of energy generation(Iyono et al 2017). According to these engineers, for Australia
to achieve an efficient production of electricity with reduced emissions, Australia should acquire
efficiency policies concerning energy production. For the necessary reform in the sector of
energy, the nation must be guided by the national plan for change which is very important tool
for certainty provision to the consumers and investors as well as minimizing the costs which are
not necessary and the risks that may arise in the sector of energy supply. The national plan
contains the government policy intervention which is able to rectify the production process of
electricity in Australia in regard to all possible means that can be employed to achieve the target
of minimized emissions.
Figure 1: Energy demand breakdown(Tan and Zhi 2016).

This paper presents factors that are considered as challenges and are currently faced by
the Australian industries producing electricity, and requests the low of Australia to get involved
in the formation of plan that will guide the nation to success. A vague plan may results into high
risks of energy loss in large amounts within a short duration which may be difficult to rectify. A
good transition plan should incorporate a connected grid supply system of electricity which is
more resilient and reliable. In the near future, the generation of electricity in Australia will
demand for expertise engineers which will work towards the attainment of successful plan and
ensure reduced emissions from the energy sector.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The Condition of the Current Nuclear Power Development in Australia
In the past centauries, proportions came up with the development of nuclear power
plants which were established primarily at specific locations like Sydney. A few years after the
establishment of the power plants, the government of Australia gets involved in the system to
ensure a greater capacity of nuclear power plant(Hazarika and Pathak 2018). The power plant
which was established in Sydney encountered some challenges which as a result delayed its
success. However the government had a keen interest on the nuclear power plant and therefore
had to contact Russia the mother of nuclear energy producer. Most of the nuclear power plants
which were established by the government of Australia did not prosper due to a number of
reasons but with the increased demand for electricity and economy development, the nuclear
power plants became more important to the country(Phillips, Hine, and Phillips 2019).

Figure 2: Generation of three scenarios of electricity(Tan and Zhi 2016).
It was due to high demands for electricity that stimulated the government of Australia to
establish the nuclear power plant in Sydney. Few years after the establishment of power plant,
the Australian government came up with national Nuclear Power Action Plan after which a
proposal was drafted by Atomic Energy Commission within the country for different reactors in
specific locations. The costs which were incurred by the government on the establishment were
few but increased with time up to some few years back. Currently, the country of Australia on
the china queries has connected with China to improve the development of the nuclear power
plant at Sydney. The power plant however received technical support from the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and then a revision was done on the plan to maximize the plant
capacity to values higher than the initial figures(Tan and Zhi 2016). Other countries apart from
china such as South Korea and Russia has also developed financial interest to aid support to the

nuclear power plant in Sydney and have also offered expertise techniques to facilitate the
development of the power plants.
Figure 3 : Nuclear Power plant is Victoria(Australia)
These other interested countries established a mutual agreement with Australia on matters to deal
with selection of the site for the power plant, modification and design, matters related to the
development, operation of the power plant, accelerations of the particles, reactors research and
desalination water plants. Apart from the above mentioned issues is the need for proper
management of waste materials that results from fuels supply. The power machines which were
employed at the site were to offer turbine generators operating at high speeds. To ensure safety
measures in the generation of nuclear power, the Minister for Science and Technology in
Australia has maintained a close link with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The