Replacing Australia’s retiring coal power stations with small nuclear reactors could cost $387bn, analysis suggests

An artist’s rendering shows Westinghouse’s planned AP300 small modular nuclear power reactor, which the company officially unveiled earlier this year. Photograph: Reuters

The federal government says it would cost as much as $387bn to replace Australia’s retiring coal-fired power stations with the form of nuclear power proposed by the Coalition.

The figure, produced by the energy department, is the projected cost of replacing all of the output from closing coal-fired plants with small modular reactors.