Power and energy :: ABC Kimberley WA

How will we power our homes, offices and industry in the future?
Will it be nuclear? Will it be sunshine? The energy debate is set to heat up – and here in Western Australia we’re holding alot of the cards; natural gas, uranium, big tides and abundant sunshine. There’ll be a Federal government review into the nuclear industry, but Premier Carpenter wants to hold back some of the state’s gas from export, while MP Wilson Tuckey wants tidal power to run the country. Nic Wills-Johnson is an energy economist with the Planning and Transport Research Centre in Perth.The cost is likely to decide which energy source we'll exploit.Mr Wills-Johnson doesn't think holding back gas for use in WA will work economically.He says nuclear power has a huge start up cost that is unlikely to be met by Australia's small population and industry base. Transporting the power generated by tides over vast distances isn't necessarily viable either. So what's left?Sunshine. But Mr Wills-Johnson says large scale solar technology remains as costly as nuclear generators. He's hopeful that advancements in technology will see solar harnessed because it's abundant and best of all, from the economist's point of view, it's free.Energy economist; Nic Wills-Johnson