❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding carbon emissions from the energy sector, budget allocation for emission reduction, and the potential of nuclear power in WA.
AnsweredQoN 176Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ENERGY — CARBON
EMISSIONS
176. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Energy:
I refer to the announcement last
week that the Byron Generating Station, a nuclear energy facility in the US
state of Illinois, celebrated 4 500 consecutive days of carbon-free nuclear
power production.
(1) How much carbon does the WA
energy sector emit in any given year?
(2) How much money in the budget is allocated to
reducing carbon emissions produced by the WA energy sector?
(3) If the
government is serious about tackling climate change, why will it not lift the
moratorium on nuclear power and uranium mining?
EMISSIONS
176. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Energy:
I refer to the announcement last
week that the Byron Generating Station, a nuclear energy facility in the US
state of Illinois, celebrated 4 500 consecutive days of carbon-free nuclear
power production.
(1) How much carbon does the WA
energy sector emit in any given year?
(2) How much money in the budget is allocated to
reducing carbon emissions produced by the WA energy sector?
(3) If the
government is serious about tackling climate change, why will it not lift the
moratorium on nuclear power and uranium mining?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Energy.
(1) The most
recently available commonwealth, state and territory greenhouse gas inventory
data indicates that for the financial year ending 30 June 2017, electricity
generation activities in Western Australia were responsible for emissions
equivalent to 25.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
(2) In November
2018, the McGowan government announced $9 million of seed funding for the clean
energy future fund to support emission reduction initiatives by the private
sector. A state climate policy is also under development to outline the
government's intended approach to address climate change and greenhouse
emissions reduction.
(3) The state
government does not consider nuclear power as being appropriate for Western Australia,
due to a combination of factors, including the capital costs, relatively long
construction periods and large site requirements for development of the
facilities; concerns over waste management; and the costs and challenges
associated with decommissioning nuclear reactors. Capital cost estimates
prepared by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
indicate that nuclear power is not cost competitive with alternative
electricity generation technologies.
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Energy.
(1) The most
recently available commonwealth, state and territory greenhouse gas inventory
data indicates that for the financial year ending 30 June 2017, electricity
generation activities in Western Australia were responsible for emissions
equivalent to 25.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
(2) In November
2018, the McGowan government announced $9 million of seed funding for the clean
energy future fund to support emission reduction initiatives by the private
sector. A state climate policy is also under development to outline the
government's intended approach to address climate change and greenhouse
emissions reduction.
(3) The state
government does not consider nuclear power as being appropriate for Western Australia,
due to a combination of factors, including the capital costs, relatively long
construction periods and large site requirements for development of the
facilities; concerns over waste management; and the costs and challenges
associated with decommissioning nuclear reactors. Capital cost estimates
prepared by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
indicate that nuclear power is not cost competitive with alternative
electricity generation technologies.
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