A future Coalition government may compulsorily acquire the Liddell Power Station site for use as a nuclear power plant.
The Newcastle Herald understands that the Coalition has not given up on using the site for nuclear power generation, even though its owner AGL has emphatically ruled out nuclear as part its future plans.
The energy giant is in the process of transforming the site into a clean energy hub that will host an estimated $1 billion-plus portfolio of industries including agriculture, clean energy and firming technologies, composting, coal ash recycling, green metals and advanced manufacturing.
But the Coalition is hopeful AGL will have a change of heart and negotiate with a future Coalition government about the future of the site, which is strategically located adjacent to critical transmission infrastructure.
If that fails the government may move to compulsorily acquire it in the national interest. It is likely such a move would result in drawn out legal proceedings.
Opposition Energy Spokesman Ted O'Brien confirmed the Liddell site was being assessed along with adjacent landholdings, including former mine sites.
"We will have a keen eye to what is in the national interest, the community interest and we will of course listen to the advice of the independent nuclear energy coordinating authority regarding the (Liddell) site's feasibility," he said.
Muswellbrook is one of seven sites around Australia that the Coalition has identified as being potentially suitable to host a nuclear reactor.
Despite facing an avalanche of criticism about the cost and time needed to introduce nuclear into the Australian energy mix, Mr O'Brien said he was confident the Coalition could convince the wider community that its plan was sound.
"Labor is turning the lights out. Prices are going to soar, jobs will be shed and industry will collapse leaving Australians poorer and our nation weaker," he said.
"Under Labor, renewables have stalled, they have suffocated the supply of gas and 90 per cent of our 24-7 baseload power stations are going to exit the grid in the next 10 years. They are turning off one system without having another one ready," he said.
"It's an economic disaster, communities like the Hunter that have previously been the economic powerhouses of Australia will be left without a future."
Mr O'Brien said a Coalition Government would undertake an extensive community engagement with Upper Hunter communities about the implications of hosting a nuclear power plant.
"We want to make sure communities are at the centre of our planning," he said.
"That means for Muswellbrook, while we will have an independent coordinating authority doing the feasibility assessment we will also be doing comprehensive community engagement."
Under the plan, there would be a "regional deal" with host communities to unlock investment in modern infrastructure, services and community priorities.
Integrated economic development zones would also be established that would leverage nuclear power plants to attract manufacturing and high technology industries.
"But it's got to be based on what the community envisions for its own future," Mr O'Brien said.
"We believe that by getting energy right we are going to set the country up for a new era of economic prosperity. "The communities that will be at the front of that next wave of growth will be Muswellbrook and other communities and other communities that will host net zero nuclear plants."
It is likely the consultation process, which would take between two to three years, would delay the closure of some coal-fired power stations such as Bayswater and Eraring.
"We do not believe in the premature closure of coal-fired power stations. We need more gas and lots of it but we will also see the rollout of renewables into the system."
