Data centres revive Coalition passion for nuclear power, but this time more expensive and even less realistic - Renew Economy

The Coalition has renewed calls for nuclear power as a solution to Australia's data centre energy demand. The article reports that Coalition members see nuclear as capable of meeting the high, steady power requirements of data centres, but argues the proposal is more expensive and less feasible than alternatives, citing unspecified cost concerns and regulatory barriers.

Where this fits

This reveals a real gap in Australia's firm power capacity that neither renewables nor gas alone can fill reliably or affordably at scale. Data centres need continuous, predictable power; solar and wind cannot provide it without massive overbuild plus battery storage or gas backing, compounding whole-system cost. The article dismisses nuclear on cost grounds without quantifying the total system cost of the renewable-plus-firming alternative, which is the pattern Energy Realism tracks: the headline cost of solar panels hides the grid integration cost, the transmission overbuild, the gas plant that must run idle, and the China supply-chain lock-in that comes with batteries and inverters.

What it means

Australia is about to make another choice that locks in gas for decades or chains data centre power to weather and battery stockpiles, neither of which solves the problem. The firm, energy-dense alternative remains banned by law while Australia competes for data centre investment against jurisdictions that can offer true baseload power. If Australia wants to attract data centre investment, cut emissions, and reduce dependence on gas imports and Chinese batteries, the cost calculation needs to include the full system, not just the per-megawatt-hour rate of the solar panel itself.