The Grattan Institute has studied the potential of wind, solar, geothermal, bio-energy, nuclear and carbon capture and storage to generate near-zero emissions power.

Its report, No Easy Choices, to be released today, says that given the lack of any ``sure bets'' Australia should keep all options on the table.

That includes perhaps the most controversial technologies, nuclear and carbon capture and storage, Grattan energy program director Tony Wood said.

Both may be needed if Australia is to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

``If you ignore those two that's very risky because it's very difficult to believe that renewables can get there without prices going through the roof,'' Mr Wood said.

He argues that while Australia might be better off waiting for other countries to develop cheaper and better nuclear plants, it has a very strong interest in developing carbon capture and storage.

``So much of our power comes from coal and if we can't keep producing electricity from coal our power (cost) goes up more than anybody else's,'' Mr Wood said.

``Also we export so much of our coal and . . . if the rest of the world doesn't want our coal then we're in trouble.''

The report argues that wind and solar PV may be commercially viable if carbon pollution prices rise to foreseeable levels over the next 20 years.

But it states that those technologies can never provide more than 50 per cent of Australia's electricity needs without massive advances in storage technologies.

Geothermal, which has huge potential in Australia, is ``highly uncertain'' when it comes to reliability and costs because it's still in the exploration stage.

The report acknowledges that nuclear and carbon capture and storage are unlikely to be demonstrated in Australia anytime soon ``unless government takes on most of the material risk of the project''.

Mr Wood says the carbon tax and subsequent emission trading scheme must be the primary mechanism by which Australia reduces its emissions but he argues the market on its own won't make low-emissions technologies competitive.

That's especially true if stringent pollution caps aren't in place, he said.

``If we don't start to address the issue of additional costs of those technologies that are important in the future they won't be there,'' Mr Wood said.