What chance have we of sense prevailing when Finkel and friends claim such preposterous rubbish http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-20/energy-storage-needed-to-keep-bills-down-finkel-report-warns/9167610

As Chief-Scientist he should be our leader in science, not a mindless follower. Storage being viable at the level required for 24/7/365 despatch is a green pipe-dream. He should be sacked for failure to propose that the use nuclear energy should be sensibly discussed, at the very least.

The reason nuclear energy was not considered in his recent report is because, apparently "In Australia, the establishment of nuclear power would require broad community consultation and the development of a social and legal licence. There is a strong awareness of the potential hazards associated with nuclear power plant operation, including the potential for the release of radioactive materials. Any development will require a significant amount of time to overcome social, legal, economic and technical barriers". Isn't it Finkel's job to try to push through opposition to the view of a minority to have the option considered? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Australia#Opinion_polls

The scale of storage required to meet current and future domestic needs, not to mention transport and industrial heating, is utterly, preposterously humongous and expensive.The further we go down the renewables path, and the more Gov't gives investors the green-light that this path is its chosen path, the greater becomes the likelihood that we'll find ourselves broke and up $hit Creek in the fight against AGW.

Finkel mentions SMR's in his report then ignores them, while Chinergy is starting to build the 210 MWe HTR-PM, which consists of twin 250 MWt high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs) which build on the experience of several innovative reactors in the 1960s to 1980s. These aresoon enough ready to buy off the shelf, while in the USA, NuScale SMR's will be ready in 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/01/15/nuscale-first-to-submit-smr-nuclear-application-to-nrc/#16cf6248581e

Current infrastructure is sufficient when replacing coal plants with modular nuclear. This is the path we should be taking, and this is supported by some of the biggest names in environmentalism:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/us-environmentalist-tells-australia-to-get-over-their-nuclear-hangup-20171102-gzdlvo.html

http://csas.ei.columbia.edu/2016/08/17/advanced-nuclear-power/

That last link should have been https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1f4BKsFrCA&feature=youtu.be

It's so good when a renewablista sees the light then leads the way. They become the best nuclear advocates:

https://youtu.be/ciStnd9Y2ak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI6IzPCmIW8