Today, Argentina has three working nuclear power plants and a 75-year atomic history – and it even built Australia’s research reactor at Lucas Heights. So, what can Australia learn?
In Buenos Aires, Institute of Public Affairs’ Chief Economist, Adam Creighton, sits down with Professor Germán, head of Argentina’s National Commission for Atomic Energy (CNEA), to unpack the reality of nuclear power costs, uranium exports, and the future of reactors in a world obsessed with net zero.
They discuss:
- How Argentina’s nuclear sector is structured: CNEA, Nucleoeléctrica and INVAP
- The story behind Argentina designing and building Australia’s Lucas Heights reactor
- Whether nuclear is really “too expensive” once you count 40–50+ years of operation
- How nuclear compares to wind and solar when you include reliability and 24/7 output
- Argentina’s uranium potential and why it currently imports fuel
- Life-extension and refurbishment of older reactors vs building new ones
- The debate over small modular reactors (SMRs) and where they actually make sense
- How cheap gas, renewables and nuclear fit together in Argentina’s future energy mix
If you are serious about energy policy, electricity prices and the nuclear debate in Australia, this conversation with the man running Argentina’s atomic programme is essential viewing.
You can view all other relevant interviews and articles here: https://ipa.org.au/ipa-argentina
This discussion is a production of the Institute of Public Affairs.
Subscribe to keep up to date with the Institute of Public Affairs’ latest research: https://ipa.org.au/#signup.
If you would like to support more content like this, please consider making a tax-deductible donation at https://members.ipa.org.au/donate/.
To find out more about the IPA’s research or to become a member visit https://ipa.org.au
