Page 93 - pd306-July22-mag-web_Neat

TO BE NUMBER 1 IN WHAT WE DO
MACA.NET.AU

proclaimed bulls in early 2020 when spot Today’s renewed interest in uranium AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman
prices broke the $US30/lb threshold – a also comes at a time when Australia is said. “It was impossible to operate the sys-
performance last achieved in 2016. grappling with energy supply woes. tem under current conditions while ensur-
Many have attributed the renewed inter- In mid-June, the Australian Energy Mar- ing reliable, secure supply of electricity to
est in nuclear energy to its ability to gen- ket Operator (AEMO) suspended the en- Australian homes and businesses.”
erate low-emission power at a time when tire country’s wholesale electricity market, Westerman also said that New South
countries and governments are looking to halting spot prices to avoid potential black- Wales was in a particularly tight spot and
decarbonise. outs along the east coast of the country. urged them to conserve energy when pos-
Australia’s Federal Labor Government “We are seeing very challenging times,” sible. As of 2019, up to 80% of New South
recently committed to a 43% carbon emis-
sion reduction by the end of the decade to
the United Nations.
Munro believes interest in nuclear power
was accelerated earlier this year when the
war in Ukraine disrupted supply chains and
rocked fossil fuel prices.
“I think the uranium market is extremely
dynamic at the moment because the pros-
pect for nuclear power has leapt forward at
a pace even the most raging uranium bulls
would not have been able to foresee,” he
said.
“The crossover between a unique source
of clean energy that also provides baseload
power that can complement renewables,
colliding with the rapid rediscovering of en-
ergy security and its importance at a policy
level, has directed so much attention to-
wards nuclear power. The uranium market Brandon Munro
is going to be the beneficiary of that.”

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT JULY 2022 Page 93