Jervis Bay/Shoalhaven being a possible area for a nuclear reactor is a topic that seems to come up every few years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The topic raised its head again when Rob Parker, who coordinates Nuclear for Climate Australia (NCA), named it a possible site.
Mr Parker, in a story that appeared on the Goulburn Post’s website on Tuesday, raised the issue again because he believes nuclear reactors must be in the mix if Australia is to make a serious dent in its carbon emissions.
Mr Parker argued that nuclear energy needed to be 80 per cent of the mix due to climate change.
The NCA has listed 18 possible nuclear reactor sites on its website, including Yass, Marulan and Shoalhaven/Jervis Bay which could be constructed by 2040 and provide 149 terawatts of energy annually.
Mr Parker said he considered many locations but the best ones were those near water, rail and the transmission grid.
“In the Goulburn region it is problematic, while there is the grid connection at Marulan, the nearest reservoir is around the upper reaches of the Shoalhaven, which would have to be dammed. That is difficult,” he said.
This is not the first time and won’t be the last time that the Shoalhaven and Jervis Bay areas are linked to nuclear power.
In her book Grand Visions for Jervis Bay Paradise Preserved Bridget writes there were plans to build a nuclear power station at Murray’s Beach in 1969.
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission, at the time, argued it was in the nation’s best interests to develop nuclear industry.
Plans and costings were made and initially work started.
By 1971, according to Mrs Sant’s research, $3 million had been spent on seismic surveys, excavations and road construction.
You can still see the scars from the initial plans today.
In the 1960s 11 holes were blown into one of the country’s largest seagrass meadows at Hole in the Wall in Booderee National Park, when seismic testing was used to check ground stability for a proposed nuclear testing facility.
Nearly 50 years later, the holes are clearly visible on Google Earth and aren’t expected to grow back for another 100 years.
However, the project’s “death knell” came in 1973 when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam signed the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty.
Current politicians like NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, according the Goulburn Post, have ruled out nuclear reactors.
If the push, if it gained momentum, it would face strong community backlash and it would be politically costly.
RELATED: Scars still there
