Success of Renewables Behind Coalition’s Nuclear Push, Says Energy Minister

Australia’s Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Bowen has criticised the Coalition’s nuclear plan for the nation, saying it is a reaction to Labor’s “effective” approach to renewables rather than innovative policy. Mr. Bowen made the comments in an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review, where he claimed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was pushing for nuclear not because renewables were moving too slow, but because Labor was moving too fast. He said renewable generation had increased by 25 percent since Labor had come to power. The first auction of the Capacity Investment Scheme—a national framework to encourage new investment in wind, solar and batteries—that would support 6GW of new power, had received more than 40GW of project registrations, according to the minister....