Daniel Smith: Australia needs to lean into energy strengths solar and wind for decarbonisation

Australia has a clear choice about our journey to net zero. We can stick with Anthony Albanese’s plan of replacing old coal fired power plants with renewables now, or go with Peter Dutton’s idea to replace them with nuclear later. But we also have a choice about what sort of economy we want to be. We can lean into our current path of economic diversification, developing industries like critical minerals processing, battery manufacturing and green hydrogen – and export them to the world to support its decarbonisation. Or, we can discourage this opportunity. In opposing Labor’s production credits for critical minerals processing and green hydrogen, Mr Dutton is deciding not to compete for the trillions of dollars of private global capital looking to invest in these industries. And, in backing nuclear over renewables, Mr Dutton is rejecting Australia’s competitive advantage of abundant wind and solar. The Canadian province of Ontario provides an interesting comparison. Having built its first nuclear plant 60 years ago, Ontario is now hoping to develop small modular reactors. As in Australia, solar and wind are the cheapest new generation options in Ontario. But, the province hopes to leverage its nuclear maturity and export SMR technology, if proven viable. So, we can choose to support the export of clean energy solutions to the world now, or importing them from places like Ontario later. Which option do you think would be better for Australia? Daniel Smith is executive chair of ReGen Strategic