Giants join forces for Victorian plant

THREE of Australia's richest men have joined forces to set up Australia's first nuclear power plant.

Top businessmen Ron Walker, Hugh Morgan and Robert Champion de Crespigny are the key shareholders of a private company called Australian Nuclear Energy Pty Ltd.

The trio are examining the viability of building a nuclear plant in Victoria or South Australia.

A source close to the group told the Herald Sun the company had raised its plans with the Federal Government and the Bracks and Rann governments.

Mr Morgan, the former head of uranium producer Western Mining, is chairman of the venture and owns 20 per cent of the company.

Mr Walker and his close friend Mr de Crespigny each hold 40 per cent stakes in the business.

The company is also talking to the US-based General Electric company, the world's largest supplier of nuclear generation equipment.

"The company was formed to investigate the feasibility of setting up a nuclear plant in Victoria," the source said.

"Informal discussions have been held with the Federal Government and the South Australian and Victorian state governments."

Mr Walker, a former federal treasurer of the Liberal Party, is a close acquaintance of Prime Minister John Howard.

The push comes at a sensitive time for the Howard Government as it examines the recommendations of the Switkowski report on Australia's nuclear future.

Mr Howard has become an enthusiastic proponent of examining nuclear power generation for Australia, and has endorsed it as a clean, environmentally friendly form of energy.

"We need an approach that tackles the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and that is why we need to keep the nuclear option on the table," he told Parliament this month.

Earlier this month Labor premiers warned the Howard Government it should temper its support for nuclear power.

Premier Steve Bracks vowed in December to put any proposal for a nuclear plant to a referendum.

A nuclear reactor is also likely to face strong opposition from the Rann Government, which fought off a Federal Government bid to place a low-level radioactive waste dump in the state's outback in 2004.

In December, the Federal Government's expert review of the potential for nuclear power generation, headed by former Telstra chief Ziggy Switkowski, recommended Australia could have 25 nuclear plants by 2050.

Dr Switkowski said the first reactor could be operating within 10 years. His report said proximity to the east coast national electricity grid would be a key to determining the location of nuclear stations.

That has put the Latrobe Valley and Hastings at the top of the list of ideal Victorian sites.

A study published last month by the Australia Institute identified Portland as a potential site.

Governments in Europe, Asia and North America are accelerating the roll-out of nuclear reactors to reduce their reliance on coal-fired power stations, which are a major source of greenhouse emissions.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, there are 223 nuclear reactors under construction around the world.

The most aggressive expansion is in China where 63 plants are being built, followed by Russia (26), South Africa (25) and India (24).

Australia has the world's largest low-cost reserves of uranium ore, prompting Chinese and Indian interest in local exploration.

source news : news.com.au