A new clear future for South Australia
The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) welcomes the release of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission’s final report today and is confident the government and public have the facts to decide the State’s further involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle.
The report highlights that South Australia can benefit greatly through the expansion of uranium mining, the storage of high level nuclear material, and potentially building nuclear power and enriching fuel under the right conditions.
The Royal Commission also confirmed the low carbon potential of nuclear power and that legislative impediments should be removed to allow it to be considered as part of future energy policies.
The greatest benefit the Royal Commission uncovered for South Australia was the provision of a secure, reliable and safe location for spent nuclear fuel. This facility could provide up to $455 billion in a State Wealth Fund that could be used to build much needed infrastructure, provide additional welfare for those most in need, or even conserve and improve the quality of the State’s national parks.
Jason Kuchel, Chief Executive of SACOME said “These facilities are engineered to a high standard and are capable of holding nuclear waste indefinitely with no movement to the outside environment.” “I have seen this process first hand and am confident that this industry could be managed exceptionally well in South Australia.”
Mr Kuchel says the South Australian public are increasingly embracing the role this State can play in the nuclear fuel cycle, confirmed through SACOME’s recent Reachtel Poll of 1575 respondents, conducted in March 2016, that revealed:
These numbers are consistent with South Australia’s current activities in the nuclear fuel cycle, with regions around the world generally showing less opposition to nuclear power and spent fuel storage the closer they live to uranium mining or nuclear activities.
As confirmation of a growing understanding of the important role nuclear plays in addressing climate change, the poll revealed that 39% of Greens voters are in favour of or unopposed to nuclear power.
Mr Kuchel stated “South Australia’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle to date has done more for reducing carbon emissions globally than all of our State’s emissions lowering initiatives put together.”
“It is therefore morally incumbent on the people of South Australia to properly consider the findings of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission and the potential role we can play to further encourage the take up of nuclear power internationally.”
“The Royal Commission process has been a thorough analysis of the science, perceptions and experiences of others operating within the nuclear fuel cycle and the high standard of South Australia’s uranium mining industry has been reaffirmed.”
In addressing uranium mining, the Royal Commission found there should be one single process for uranium mining approvals; development of a comprehensive precompetitive uranium database; and commitment to an increased long-term investment program, such as the Plan for Accelerating Exploration (PACE) to encourage Greenfields exploration.
“SACOME has long advocated for a single environmental approvals process for uranium mining to remove unnecessary delays and costs to the industry and this report highlights that uranium mining is just like any other commodity in terms of its ability to be appropriately managed and regulated” Mr Kuchel said.
“SACOME has always seen a role for nuclear power in Australia including small modular reactors that are in operation globally in marine vessels and under development for stationary power generation globally, and generation four reactors that can reduce, reuse and recycle nuclear waste,” Mr Kuchel said.
The Royal Commission’s final report took into account over 250 public submissions to four nuclear fuel cycle issues papers, interviews from 132 expert witnesses including 41 global specialists, and a further 170 submissions on the tentative findings.
The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) welcomes the release of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission’s final report today and is confident the government and public have the facts to decide the State’s further involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle.
The report highlights that South Australia can benefit greatly through the expansion of uranium mining, the storage of high level nuclear material, and potentially building nuclear power and enriching fuel under the right conditions.
The Royal Commission also confirmed the low carbon potential of nuclear power and that legislative impediments should be removed to allow it to be considered as part of future energy policies.
The greatest benefit the Royal Commission uncovered for South Australia was the provision of a secure, reliable and safe location for spent nuclear fuel. This facility could provide up to $455 billion in a State Wealth Fund that could be used to build much needed infrastructure, provide additional welfare for those most in need, or even conserve and improve the quality of the State’s national parks.
Jason Kuchel, Chief Executive of SACOME said “These facilities are engineered to a high standard and are capable of holding nuclear waste indefinitely with no movement to the outside environment.” “I have seen this process first hand and am confident that this industry could be managed exceptionally well in South Australia.”
Mr Kuchel says the South Australian public are increasingly embracing the role this State can play in the nuclear fuel cycle, confirmed through SACOME’s recent Reachtel Poll of 1575 respondents, conducted in March 2016, that revealed:
- A low 26% oppose uranium mining
- A minority 30% oppose nuclear power for South Australia
- Opposition to a high level waste facility is only 38%
These numbers are consistent with South Australia’s current activities in the nuclear fuel cycle, with regions around the world generally showing less opposition to nuclear power and spent fuel storage the closer they live to uranium mining or nuclear activities.
As confirmation of a growing understanding of the important role nuclear plays in addressing climate change, the poll revealed that 39% of Greens voters are in favour of or unopposed to nuclear power.
Mr Kuchel stated “South Australia’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle to date has done more for reducing carbon emissions globally than all of our State’s emissions lowering initiatives put together.”
“It is therefore morally incumbent on the people of South Australia to properly consider the findings of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission and the potential role we can play to further encourage the take up of nuclear power internationally.”
“The Royal Commission process has been a thorough analysis of the science, perceptions and experiences of others operating within the nuclear fuel cycle and the high standard of South Australia’s uranium mining industry has been reaffirmed.”
In addressing uranium mining, the Royal Commission found there should be one single process for uranium mining approvals; development of a comprehensive precompetitive uranium database; and commitment to an increased long-term investment program, such as the Plan for Accelerating Exploration (PACE) to encourage Greenfields exploration.
“SACOME has long advocated for a single environmental approvals process for uranium mining to remove unnecessary delays and costs to the industry and this report highlights that uranium mining is just like any other commodity in terms of its ability to be appropriately managed and regulated” Mr Kuchel said.
“SACOME has always seen a role for nuclear power in Australia including small modular reactors that are in operation globally in marine vessels and under development for stationary power generation globally, and generation four reactors that can reduce, reuse and recycle nuclear waste,” Mr Kuchel said.
The Royal Commission’s final report took into account over 250 public submissions to four nuclear fuel cycle issues papers, interviews from 132 expert witnesses including 41 global specialists, and a further 170 submissions on the tentative findings.