'It's really a gas plan': energy developers react to Coalition nuclear push

Opposition leader Peter Dutton announced last month that a Coalition government would build seven nuclear reactors in Australia, including one on the site of the decommissioned Liddell Power Station near Muswellbrook.

Muswellbrook's likely future federal MP, Barnaby Joyce, says he supports building a nuclear reactor outside the Upper Hunter town.

But Tamworth-based Efficacy Advisors director Llewellyn Owens says the new coalition plan is "definitely" more about being anti-renewable than it is pro-nuclear.

"The reality is it's really more a gas plan than a nuclear plan. The nuclear power stations aren't going to be available for quite some time and the actual power they get from them isn't that significant compared to what we actually need on the grid," Mr Owens said.

A CSIRO and Australian Energy Market Operator report in May estimated nuclear power would be up to twice as expensive as renewables and would take at least 15 years to develop and build.

On top of time and cost, Mr Owens worries the federal Opposition is shooting itself in the foot by pushing for government-owned nuclear plants instead of prioritising private sector solutions.

"What worries me is I'm traditionally a Liberal voter. Liberal voters believe in free market, and this is far from free market. It's moving very much in the other direction," he said.

"It's mandating technology from the government when the market at the moment is saying the cheapest form of electricity is renewables. That's why they're rolling out, they're the cheapest path to reducing energy cost."

Mr Owens' advisory company consults with a range of renewable energy, clean technology, and water development businesses across the New England North West.

He says reversing the current trend towards green energy means missing out on jobs, investment, and cheaper energy for the region.

"Renewables are happening right now. They're rolling out as we speak. We're building a solar farm up at Goondiwindi at this very point in time and it's delivering jobs, it's delivering benefits, and it's solving the problem," Mr Owens said.

"The coal-fired power stations are getting old and have to be replaced well before the nuclear plants will be available. The focus needs to be less about the climate wars and more about how we keep the lights on in the face of losing these big, old, ageing coal power stations."

Community organiser Emma Stilts says there's a "mixed view" on nuclear power in her hometown of Manilla.

"Some feel it would be a good idea if it happened 20 years ago. However, most people are quite concerned about the risk of a nuclear power station built in the New England North West or Hunter Valley," Ms Stilts said.

"The safety risk, though small, is so great it's not worth it. Once contaminated our water and soils would be worthless."

She says farmers she's spoken to are worried about the impact nuclear power stations could have on the region's already fragile water security.

Most nuclear power plants typically consume 35 to 65 million litres of water - enough to fill at least 14 Olympic swimming pools - per day.

"How will it work in times of drought? It would create more pressure on our precious water resources for residential, commercial and agriculture users," Ms Stilts says.

"There are safer, less problematic alternatives that are available to use now."

Ms Stilts has been working on one of those alternatives for nearly 10 years now.

She's the president of Manilla Community Renewable Energy (MCRE), a group that has been working together to create a community-owned solar project since 2014.

In April, the community group celebrated the acquisition of Manilla Solar, a business that will build and run the 4.6-megawatt solar project, providing returns to more than 80 local investors.

The project will provide enough power to cover the annual needs of about 2400 households.

Co-director of Manilla Solar Gerald Arends says renewable energy is already creating value in the economy and there's huge potential for tight-knit communities to profit directly.

"We see a future where hundreds or thousands of these small assets contribute to our energy needs, are locally invested and built and maintained by regional contractors," Mr Arends said.

"While we would prefer Peter Dutton to see the tremendous potential that community-scale renewable energy development can bring, it is for local communities to drive these decisions."