An ANSTO report states nuclear power is economically competitive with coal or gas.
The executive director of ANSTO, Dr Ian Smith also says nuclear power would be good environmentally.
“It’s important to reduce carbon-dioxide in the world, so that we overcome the problems of greenhouse gas and reduce climate change. In that way there is a need to embrace all technologies which can produce low carbon-dioxide energy. Nuclear is one of those, solar is another, wind power is another and of course conservation of energy. But nuclear is a clear option that needs to be investigated for base load power,” Mr Smith said.
However the Australian Conservation Foundation has rejected ANSTO’s report.
The ACF's nuclear spokesman David Noonan says a nuclear industry would require massive public subsidies.
“It could be in the order of one billion dollars Australian, and then having to wait toward two decades before that nuclear power would turn on a single new light bulb. And the Prime Minister seems far more interested in a toxic lead into World Environment Day, than to talk about the real issues, which is how you provide, as much of the west Europeans are doing, clean, green, renewable energy to Australia,” Mr Noonan said.
A meeting of federal cabinet is due to consider the issue on Tuesday.