Geees Foxy, really? You can REALLY stack it on without any effort.
This is the kind of inclination of which I speak.
It is patronising and frankly quite deleterious.
I'm not sure what your true agenda is, but it is clear and evident by your particular and peculiar style of narrative, that it is NOT what you purport it to be.

Foxy,
> As for coal? Not sure about accidents, but at least not radioactive
Like the dinosaurs who dominate this thread, you're relying too heavily on assumptions. See http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/

Meanwhile, it's been many years since controversial ex-environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg predicted that renewable energy would continue to get cheaper than fossil fuelled electricity, at which point there'd be a very rapid transition. And though I disagree with him on many of the details of how and why he thought this would occur, his main point is valid and I think we're starting to see it happen.

Aidan, you cannot make such a simplistic statement.
Firstly you are not involved in the creation or development of any renewables, and if you were you would find that even if the cost of creating the mediums that create the power, ALL the other factors, and most of all, the cost to the consumer, either direct or indirect, will be too much for it to be fair or viable.
The only way renewables will ever be a REAL and RELIABLE source of continuous base-load power, is if it is heavily subsidised.
Either way, it will end up costing us more, and not just in money.

Hi Aidan,

Thank you for the link.

I've said all along in this discussion that Australia
will find its own energy option that will have a chance of
"solving the energy trilemma - affordability, reliability
and sustainability".

It may well be a mix of options, or
it may be nuclear. We'll have to wait and see.

I'm not a scientist, and all I'm able to do in this
discussion - is try to provide
appropriate reference sources and information and then
let people choose for themselves what they want to go with.

Analysis shows that the cost of renewables is continuing
to come down as technologies have matured.

However, it will be up to the government to decide where
the future of energy in Australia lies.

Whether it decides to prop up coal-fired electricity plants,
invest in renewables, or go with nuclear - we'll have to
wait and see.

I suspect this debate will be ongoing for quite a while
yet.

ALTRAV, although I'm not involved in the industry, I do keep up with its developments. You clearly don't - you seem to imagine the figures have stayed where they were a decade or more ago!

Although the infrastructure cost is higher for renewables (despite it being lower than it used to be) interest rates are low at the moment. And since there's no ongoing fuel cost, it works out cheaper overall.

And why the idiotic fixation with baseload power? Surely we should focus on real world requirements rather than trying to emulate the kind of power stations that are crap at varying their output?

Aidan, I'm sorry you have wasted your time with your last posting.
None of it is relevant, especially the costings, both initial and on-going.
Reliability may one day be improved, BUT, anything remotely related to machinery, has a life, and along that 'life', it must be serviced, and along the way it is prone to failures, which leads to repairs, then eventually it must be replaced and all this adds to the cost.
It's all very well to force something to perform, just to win a point or be vindicated, but if it's going to cost more, either initially or ultimately, I don't want it, and neither should anyone else.
Don't believe the crap about renewables are becoming cheaper, and scale of economy, and other academic rhetoric.
Look for the TRUTH, not the facts, and you will see that it's more like trying to herd cats.
And besides, what disgusting visual vandalism on our visual senses having to tolerate what is clearly "visual pollution", these pathetic attempts at gratifying those lacking fortitude, intelligence and vision to promote an impossible fix to a simple problem.
Just grab the rest of your ilk and go back to doing what you were doing and let's get on with building these nuclear power stations and the problem will be solved.
Oh and BTW, for the benefit of the gullible and ignorant, the stuff coming out of the cooling towers at a nuclear plant is, wait for it, the hint is in the word "cooling", got it yet?
Well for those too thick to get it, it's STEAM!
Yes, steam, and in case you also didn't know, steam is your friend, it's a good thing.
So stop believing that it's some kind of toxic gas.
Do you know how you come across if that's what you've always thought it was?