Ben Heard

Benjamin "Ben" Heard is a South Australian environmental consultant and an advocate for nuclear power in Australia.^[1] He is the proprietor of ThinkClimate Consulting and founder of the blog, Decarbonise SA. In 2012 he published the Zero Carbon Options report which presented a case for the replacement of aging coal-fired power stations near Port Augusta with a nuclear power plant.^[2] Heard sits on the Independent Advisory Panel which informs the planned establishment of a national radioactive waste management facility in Australia as a member of the socio-economic sub group.^[3] In November 2015, Heard was appointed to the International Advisory Board of Terrestrial Energy, a company developing molten salt nuclear reactor technology.^[4]

Nuclear power advocacy

Heard has co-authored articles with pro-nuclear environmental scientists Barry Brook and Corey Bradshaw,^[5] and presented alongside them at public and institutional events. Heard has provided commentary on nuclear issues in the South Australian media^[6] and has presented on the topic at Australian engineering,^[7] resources sector^[8][9][10] and local government events.^[11] Heard's nuclear industrial advocacy continued in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. On 29 April 2011, Heard gave a presentation at the annual Local Government Association of South Australia conference entitled Nuclear power - from opponent to proponent.^[12] The talk appeared in the event's program under the alternative title: Keeping the Lights On - the Irrefutable Case for Nuclear Energy.^[13] Later that year, Heard traveled to Perth as a guest of uranium mining company Toro Energy to speak at an event hosted by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA). The event was entitled "The Cost of Carbon; Nuclear Energy: Australia’s Clear Energy Future?" and fellow panelists included Haydon Manning and Tony Owen.^[14]

In 2012, Heard co-authored and published Zero Carbon Options, a report comparing nuclear and renewable energy options in an Australian context — specifically the replacement of the ageing coal-fired power stations Playford B and Northern located south of Port Augusta, South Australia.^[15] Heard successfully raised $7,779 to support a launch event for the project from a crowd-funding base of 106 people.^[2]

Heard has provided commercial services to uranium mining company Heathgate Resources,^[16] has presented at the Paydirt Uranium conference^[9] and has co-authored a series of articles promoting the nuclear industry for the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME).^[17]

In late 2014, Heard prepared a discussion paper for the Economic Development Board of South Australia entitled Critical Conversations which examined the "opportunities for rapid industrial development and revenue generation for South Australia through expanded involvement in the nuclear value chain". In 2015, Heard's discussion paper was submitted as part of the Economic Development Board's formal submission to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.^[18] Heard and Brook publicly supported the commencement of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in March 2015,^[19] and Heard subsequently supported Liberal party senator Sean Edwards' vision for a nuclear South Australia, describing it to The Advertiser as "entirely credible".^[20] Heard further endorsed Edwards' vision by republishing his speech delivered on April 7 to The Sydney Institute on his blog, Decarbonise SA.^[21]

In December 2015, Heard wrote:

"I want to make South Australia the nuclear recycling hub for the 21st century. I support the vision of Senator Edwards who wants high-tech jobs for South Australians for the next hundred years and beyond."^[22]

Education

Heard has a Bachelor of Applied Science, Occupational Therapy from the University of South Australia and a Masters of Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Management from Monash University.^[23] As of February 2015, he is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide.^[5]

References