At present,
Australia only uses its cooling towers for non-nuclear power plants to generate
electricity. The country’s source of electricity falls on two categories,
fossil fuels (86.9%) and renewable energy (13.1%), according to BREE 2014
Australian Energy Statistics on Table O. They only use their enormous stock of
uranium for medical and industrial purposes. That is why they built OPAL (Open
Pool Australian Light-water Reactor) last 2006, a nuclear research reactor to
serve this objective.
In addition, Australia
is the major supplier of this sought-after hazardous product, the uranium, dominating
30-40% exports worldwide. Although, they have the capability to build nuclear
power plants, up to this day they’re still against it.
“It has always been
the case that in order for nuclear power to be considered a viable domestic
energy source, it will require bipartisan political support and widespread
community acceptance. The fact remains that community acceptance for nuclear
power has been undermined by the Fukushima incident,” said Industry Minister
Ian Macfarlane in an interview by Daily Telegraph.
Apparently, the
stigma and fear for this powerful yet destructible energy source will never
waver. As long as incidents such as what happened at Chernobyl and Fukushima may
occur, a G20 member – Australia for this instance – will never open their doors
to such inevitable threat.
They’re more
interested in pursuing renewable energy resources particularly from solar and
wind. Ironically speaking, Fukushima met its unfortunate fate due to nature’s
indescribable and immeasurable force. Now, we must return to its cradle in
order to survive the next thirty or so years. Other renewable resources
Australia is currently harnessing are bioenergy, hydro, and geothermal. It
seems the country is one of the supporters of Sustainable Energy for All
(SE4ALL) program launched on September 2011by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
SE4ALL has three
objectives, one of which is “doubling the share of renewable energy in the
global energy mix” by 2030. Renewable energy is eco-friendly and cheap compared
to fossil fuels that contribute to air pollution worldwide. This global
initiative is same as “hitting two birds with one stone” approach. It doesn’t
only solve the problem of energy or electricity shortage in the future. This
may also lessen the impact of climate change that we are experiencing right
now.
In this way, we
don’t have to resort on desperate actions such as extracting electricity from
nuclear power plants. As always, nature has everything we need in terms of
natural resources and all we have to do is search for it and seize it. In
return, we must be responsible ambassadors of our planet so it could still be
available for the future generations.
Article Written By: www.heatexchangers.com.au
