Australia may cost $249bn to replace coal with nuclear power – minister

Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced on Monday that using nuclear power to replace retiring coal-fired power stations would cost A$387 billion ($249 billion).

Bowen further added on ABC National Radio that it would take 71 new small nuclear reactors to replace the 21GW of coal-fired power currently in the country’s electricity mix.

The government’s current plan is to invest in clean energy projects through what is known as “Rewiring the Nation” at a cost of $20 billion. Meanwhile, Australia continues to rank first out of G20 nations for emissions produced from the production and consumption of coal power.