Talk of nuclear power for Australia is election gambit

Significance Dutton said in March that if the Liberal/Nationals coalition wins next year’s election, he will promote investment in small modular reactors (SMRs) on the site of existing coal-fired power plants, despite doubts over their largely untested technology and a substantial cost gap with renewables. Impacts Small reactors of the type Dutton suggests carry higher operating costs than solar and wind power. The need to import technologies and materials to create a nuclear industry will be a disincentive to investors. Dutton’s attempts to create a diversion from the climate change debate is unlikely to succeed with middle-class voters.