June 25, 2024

Australian Government Backs 8 Mobile REACTORS

1.  Australia's Coalition Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's tentative nuclear reactor vision from the 2030's is far less firm than Australian Prime Minister Albanese's international planning for 8 nuclear power reactors under the AUKUS submarine Agreement. Albanese plans 2 or 3 reactors in the 2030s and 5 or 6 in the 2040s. The 8 reactors will mainly be mobile but land based when in the naval base in southern Perth, Western Australia. Each of these naval reactors use 95+% bomb grade HEU. This is vastly more than 4% LEU used in the normal land electricity reactors being proposed by Dutton. The Labor supported mobile nuclear reactors may be more prone to nuclear disasters (if they collide with large ships or experience other accidents) than totally land based reactors. 

2. The Albanese government is also planning High Level (HEU) Nuclear Waste dump. This will probably be situated at the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in central Australia ie. on the Federal Government defence land promised by Albanese. Labor has already agreed to a High Level Nuclear Waste Dump because the AUKUS agreement stipulates Australia must dispose of used submarine reactors and other HEU highly irradiated parts within Australia. US and UK HEU might also be permanently stored at Australia's future High Level Nuclear Waste dump. Albanese has also agreed to a low level (LEU) nuclear waste dump to be built around 2027 on naval defence land just south of Perth.

3. The Albanese Government has made a big thing of announcing possible future regulations of supermarkets but not yet achieved anything. The regulations first need to be passed by Parliament but Dutton says he won’t support passage because the proposal might not reduce prices for we consumers. This concerns making an Australia’s Food and Grocery Code of Conduct compulsory against supermarkets (Woolworths, Coles and Aldi).  Supermarkets allegedly punish farmers who complain about the low prices supermarkets pay for farmers’ produce. Supermarkets allegedly do not pass these low prices onto we consumers. The proposal might not end any alleged price fixing by supermarkets. Also the earliest date the reform could go into effect would probably be 1 July 2025.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete,

It seems that Norway will add 2 subs to its 4 ordered.

"After years of cooperation under the sea, in 2021 both countries signed their respective agreements to acquire similar submarines. In the Norwegian contract, the number was four new submarines, which will replace the fleet of six submarines of the Ula class, which have been sailing since the beginning of the 1990s.

But Norway wants more. When the long-term plan for the Norwegian Armed Forces was presented in April this year, the government suggested that an additional submarine should be acquired.

Earlier in June, another piece of good news came for the Navy. In the Storting​ets recommendation to the long-term plan, one of the main points was that ​one more submarine should be acquired. All parties stood behind it, and ensured that there will be six new hulls.​"


/​Kjell

Pete2 said...

Thanks /Kjell

For your information from Norwegian source https://www.forsvaretsforum.no/langtidsplanen-sjoforsvaret-tyskland/dette-betyr-seks-ubater-for-norge-en-helt-annen-dekning/382697

I'm fairly confident the extra order of 2 Type 212CDs from TKMS making up 6 for Norway is a reaction to Russia's aggressive stance seen in Ukraine. All Baltic countries are worried and are boosting their defence forces (I imagine) past the 2% of GDP budget level.

Also Sweden and Finland have moved from neutrality to joining NATO for the same containment of Russia reason.

Regards Pete

Anonymous said...

Conventional subs under the ice:

Portuguese Diesel-Electric AIP Submarine Just Patrolled Under The Arctic Ice

"The Arpão is the first Portuguese sub to operate below the ice and could herald
patrols by other advanced conventionally powered NATO boats."

See:

https://www.twz.com/news-features/portuguese-diesel-electric-aip-submarine-just-patrolled-under-the-arctic-ice

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete,

There is a video, in Swedish, where the commander of the first submarine flotilla Paula Wallenburg is talking about "The future of the submarine force as an ally in NATO".

Sweden joined NATO Thursday Mars 7 and the first NATO mission Monday 11 March led from London control still in Sweden, in April control was handed over to NATO. She also mention that HMS Södermanland handed over after its overhaul the day before.

On the Question and Answer part the question on how many subs she wanted she said 8. There was also a question how HMS Gotland performed in the exercise Dynamic Mongoose 24 the answer was excellent Gotland was not discovered and sunk everything including ASW-ships and submarines, The Netherlands, Norway and the United States was the others that provided submarines for the exercise.

/Kjell

Pete2 said...

Thanks /Kjell at 6/28/2024 4:33 PM

For the Swedish Armed Forces video "Almedalen 2024: The future of the submarine force as an ally in NATO" at https://www.youtube.com/live/pPy8Fj2rbHI?si=zwLtSgSxG_QMDzG3

I understand Almedalen (a frequent conference center) which is part of the city of Visby on the strategic (especially naval) Swedish island of Gotland.

So is it true to say Sweden may achieve 8 submarines with the 3 x Västergötland class all retired by the mid 2030s?, 3 x Gotlands all retired by the late 2030s, then as replacements 2 to 4 x A26/Blekinge class and 4 to 6 x A30 subs?

With this increase of NATO subs in the Baltic might Germany order extra subs from TKMS and Finland and/or Denmark begin to order subs.

How many subs (eg. KSS-IIIs) might Poland order?

Regards Pete

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete,

Reading about Dutton's plan has gotten me thinking...

Singapore has been talking about nuclear power as an option in the future.

https://www.mti.gov.sg/Newsroom/Parliamentary-Replies/2023/01/Written-reply-to-PQ-on-Nuclear-Energy-Options

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/economy-policy/vital-singapore-build-knowledge-nuclear-power-safety-dpm-wong

I wonder if collaboration and joint investment between Singapore and Australia would be a win-win scenario, perhaps tap on similar transmission ventures like the Australia-Asia Power Link

https://worldsteel.org/media/steel-stories/infrastructure/australia-asia-powerlink-solar-worlds-longest-underwater-cable/

Cheers
TW