Liddell coal-fired power station would be an ideal location to build a nuclear power station, a Senate committee has been told.
The Nuclear for Climate Australia group identified the Upper Hunter among a host of sites including Portland in Victoria, Lithgow, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Townsville that could form the backbone of a future nuclear-powered grid.
"Liddell would be an equal opportunity winner - repurposing coal plants in places like the Upper Hunter and Central Coast for nuclear energy would allow you to reemploy the industrial base of those areas," Nuclear for Climate Australia spokesman Rob Parker said.
Mr Parker, who has just returned from a tour of American and Canadian nuclear power plants, gave evidence on Friday at a Senate Committee hearing into the government's climate change bill.
Australia hosts 33 per cent of the world's uranium deposits and is the third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.
Nuclear for Climate Australia has proposed the installation of a 300 megawatt, boiling water reactor for the Liddell site.
"If we want to have low cost, low carbon energy, then our analysis has shown that we need a mix of about 76 per cent nuclear, 16 per cent solar and about 7 per cent hydro," Mr Parker said.
"If we are going to do this we've got to keep our coal plants going for as long as we can as we transition into the nuclear fleet."
The nuclear vision for Liddell is at odds with what the site's owner, AGL, has in mind.
The company is in the process of developing the Hunter Energy Park, a project that will incorporate a mix of renewable energy technologies including solar, battery storage and green hydrogen.
AGL did not comment on the nuclear proposal.
Groups opposed to nuclear energy in Australia cite concerns about the health and environmental risks associated with the energy technology.
Opponents also argue the costs of building and operating nuclear in Australia remain prohibitively high compared to renewable energy.
Modelling undertaken by the Climate Council earlier this year found nuclear power stations take an average of 9.4 years to build - compared to 1-3 years for a major wind or solar project.
They are also water hungry - requiring massive quantities of water for ongoing operations.
