The federal government's low emissions technology advisor Alan Finkel has dismissed suggestions the Hunter's coal-fired power stations could be transformed into nuclear reactors.
Delivering an Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering oration, Professor Finkel said there was little need and "no social licence" to develop baseload nuclear technology in Australia.
The federal Opposition recently called for an examination of the potential for nuclear technologies to contribute to national energy security and reduce power prices, saying it was "high time" for an "honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy".
It has been backed by groups such as the Nuclear for Climate Australia group, which has identified the Liddell Power station site in the Upper Hunter among a host of sites that it says could form the backbone of a future nuclear-powered grid.
Group spokesman spokesman Rob Parker told the Newcastle Herald last month that it made sense for Australia to pursue nuclear energy given the country holds 33 per cent of the world's uranium deposits.
But in addition to the technical challenges, nuclear power production in Australia is banned under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
While Professor Finkel agreed nuclear may be a superb zero emissions energy source, he said it was "hard to see" Australia going down the nuclear power route.
"Realistically, by the time you change the legislation, start investing, build the workforce, find the right technology and go through all the regulatory hurdles... it's hard to see any nuclear in Australia in less than 20 years," he said.
By that point Australia's energy market will have been almost completely converted to solar and wind, with batteries, pumped hydro and a small amount of gas providing the required firming, Professor Finkel said.
He said nuclear-generated power was a suitable option for countries with high-density populations or those that are landlocked and less capable of harnessing solar and wind power.
Professor Finkel also said green ammonia, which can be used to fuel power plants and transport, had the potential to become a bigger export commodity than green hydrogen.
He said Australia's shift away from a "dig and ship" mentality regarding energy exports needed to accelerate.
"We need to think big, we need to think very big," Professor Finkel said.
He said it made sense to build solar, wind, and hydrogen facilities for processing and refining in Australia.
"We need to expand the renewables and actually eliminate fossil fuel energy. If we do it, we can achieve this grand transformation. I wouldn't be surprised if future historians and anthropologists will look at this as being the shift from the industrial age to the electric age."
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