SOLAR farms and wind turbines would disappear from the New England landscape if Australia adopted nuclear power to solve its energy crisis.
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That's the message from Nuclear for Climate Australia founder Robert Parker, guest speaker at a summit to be held in the district on Thursday, November 9.
Mr Parker says New England would be spared thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines if a nuclear plant was built on existing coal power stations in the Hunter Valley.
"New England is not the place where you would build a nuclear power plant," Mr Parker said.
"There's insufficient water to cool the reactor. Instead, the plant should be built where there is a pool of existing water, such as a decommissioned coal-power station.
"If that were the case, there would be no need for new transmission lines across New England, since power generated from the nuclear plant would be transmitted on existing power lines."
Mr Parker's visit to the district is the latest in a series of talks he has given on nuclear power complementing green energy.
"I have travelled across NSW delivering talks about nuclear power and addressing farmers' concerns about transmission lines and wind turbines being erected on prime grazing land.
"I believe there is a place for renewable energy, however, it would complement nuclear energy which is quicker and cheaper to build."
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Ben Lomond grazier Beth White and Walcha grazier Ian McDonald have organised the visit by Mr Parker, having heard him speak at other venues.
"I wanted an alternative to New England becoming a renewable energy zone," Mr McDonald said.
"The zone will have an enormous impact on our environment and there are no plans for disposing of these solar panels or wind turbines after their expiry."
So the pair asked Mr Parker to come and address concerned residents and others at a special talk for New England residents concerned about the impact of living in the state's largest renewable energy zone.
Mr Parker has previously talked to community groups in Wagga Wagga, the Southern Highlands, the Illawarra, Canberra and in Victoria.
"Nuclear energy has the lowest emissions of any generating source with the exception of low-scale hydroelectric [systems], but that's not really available to us in Australia as we don't have the water resources," Mr Parker said.
Countries such as France, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland complemented existing energy supplies from hydro power with nuclear, he said.
"We could emulate the model of Ontario, in Canada, which supplies reliable power using 60 per cent nuclear generation with the cost to customers half what we are paying."
Mr Parker has previously countered criticism of nuclear power being unsafe.
"When it comes to civilian nuclear power plants, the toxic effects are less than just about any other generating power source we have," Mr Parker said.
It was also important to note when nuclear fuel came out of the reactor, it was "solid material".
"It's not a liquid that can go out into the environment," he said.
"It goes into a big solid container for some decades and then it will go underground as a solid.
"So it does not have this awful association with a diseasing liquid in a yellow drum that leaks into the [surrounding] environment."
Mr Parker will deliver his talk at the Armidale Bowling Club on November 5. Admission is $5.
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