The Clean Energy Council (the ‘CEC') welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Inquiry into nuclear power generation in Australia. The CEC is the peak body for the renewable energy sector in Australia. We represent and work with around 1,000 businesses operating in Australia across solar, wind and hydro power, energy storage and renewable hydrogen. Our mission is to accelerate Australia's clean energy transition. The clear message that we wish to share with the House Select Committee is that nuclear electricity generation in the Australian context does not put us on the least cost pathway to the timely replacement of our aging, coal-fired power generation fleet and that deploying nuclear electricity generation would risk increasing consumer energy bills and worsen the reliability of our electricity system. Australia's energy transition is well under way, with renewable energy – hydro, solar and wind – backed by energy storage providing over 40 per cent of Australia's electricity needs today. By the end of 2025, we expect that this number will grow to around 48 per cent, based on the projects currently under construction that are due to be completed in the year ahead. With an enabling investment and policy environment supporting the next generation of electricity supply, the electricity sector can play a key role in Australia achieving its net zero ambitions. In fact, the renewable energy and storage sector has made sizeable investments. In Q3 of 2024 we saw investors commit to 1.4 GW of new renewable generation capacity (wind and solar plants) and 2.8 GW / 8.0 GWh of new energy storage (big battery) projects. If we can maintain this pace over coming quarters and years, we will stay on track to realising this goal. Distributed energy is also playing a key role in delivering cost savings to consumers. Over four million solar panels have been installed across Australian households meaning Australians have now collectively saved up to $6 billion annually off their energy bills, equivalent to an average of $1500 a year per installation. Rooftop solar and battery installations are reliable technologies that are highly trusted by consumers which complement the deployment of large-scale renewable energy generation. For the sake of all electricity consumers and their energy bills – from household to heavy industry – it is critical that we stay on our current least cost pathway.