From excessive water consumption to the challenges of waste management, this brief finds that nuclear power would place an enormous burden on the Australian environment, resources and economy. It suggests that nuclear power is a distraction from proven, renewable-powered solutions to the climate crisis. 

Key findings

• Renewables, like solar and wind, are feeding into the grid now. They will continue to offer the most cost effective and sustainable solutions that align with Australia's future energy needs.  
• A single nuclear reactor would cost twice as much as the equivalent energy generation from renewables – including the cost of batteries and transmission line upgrades.
• Nuclear power plants consume significant amounts of water, far outstripping other energy sources.
• Nuclear leaves a toxic, intergenerational legacy of radioactive waste. There is no globally proven solution for high-level waste disposal, even from countries that have had operational nuclear reactors for many decades.
• For one-fifth of the Coalition’s nuclear price tag, the government could install rooftop solar on every house in the country that doesn’t already have it.
• If the building of nuclear reactors started tomorrow, it would be well over a decade before homes could be radioactively electrified.