Dick Smith enters nuclear debate but CSIRO analysis shows his argument in meltdown

If CSIRO had used the cost of UK reactors such as Sizewell as its benchmark, the price of nuclear energy would have shown up much greater. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

High-profile entrepreneur Dick Smith entered the ongoing radioactive debate on nuclear energy this week, accusing government agencies of misleading ministers over the costs of reactors and the practicalities of renewables.

But Smith’s complaints about what the Australian Energy Market Operator’s plan for the future of the grid says, or how CSIRO calculated the costs of nuclear, are themselves misleading.