Leaders in Lithgow and the Upper Hunter are calling for much more detail about the Coalition’s plan as their regions debate the pros and cons of going nuclear.
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00:00This coal-fired power station in the Hunter Valley shut down 12 months ago.
00:06If the Federal Coalition gets its way, it will be revived as a nuclear power plant.
00:11It's the best thing coming out of Canberra in years,
00:14being as how nuclear power is so clean in comparison to the other power sources.
00:18I just find it to be very scary, like nuclear, just scary,
00:23especially with like children growing up here.
00:26Local authorities here and at the other targeted site in Mount Piper near Lithgow
00:31weren't consulted before Peter Dutton's announcement.
00:34They want that to change going forward.
00:36It's a nationwide issue, but it's here in our backyard
00:40and we'd expect the respect of being at the table and having a seat around these discussions.
00:45It only announces the site. It is not enough to just announce a site.
00:52Community leaders say they want more information,
00:55including details on what will happen to nuclear waste.
00:59Lithgow City Council is cautious about activities involving nuclear process.
01:04We need to know more about the safety of it, what it's going to bring for our area.
01:11While going nuclear could bring more jobs to the region,
01:14it would still be 2035 at the earliest before any plant is up and running.
01:19We are really looking at more immediate priorities
01:22and that's the replacement of electricity from coal fired generation
01:27and that's really happening by 2033 in the decarbonisation of heavy industry.
01:32AGL, which owns the Liddell site, says nuclear is not part of its plans.
01:36It's in the process of developing low emissions renewable energy hubs.
01:41A region that's already one of the state's energy superpowers,
01:44getting ready for a big debate over which type of power will prevail.