Energy giant AGL has ruled out converting the former Liddell Power Station site near Muswellbrook into a nuclear reactor.
It follows increasing speculation that Liddell will be identified as one of six sites in Australia that could host a nuclear power station as part of the Coalition's soon to be released nuclear energy policy.
Earlier this week Mr Dutton suggested the policy would seek a social licence by incentivising communities near nuclear power plants with subsidised energy, a model he said was used in the United States.
AGL is in the process of transforming the Liddell site into a clean energy hub that will host an estimated $1 billion-plus portfolio of industries including agriculture, clean energy and firming technologies, composting, coal ash recycling, green metals and advanced manufacturing.
"AGL is already developing our coal and gas power station sites into low-emissions industrial energy hubs. As the owner of these sites, nuclear energy is not a part of these plans," AGL chief executive Damien Nicks said.
"There is no viable schedule for the regulation or development of nuclear energy in Australia, and the cost, build time and public opinion are all prohibitive."
Mr Nicks' comments echo those of University of Newcastle vice-chancellor Alex Zelinsky and former chief scientist Alan Finkel who earlier this week said they did not believe nuclear power was a viable option for Australia or the Hunter.
Mr Nicks said AGL was strongly focused on ensuring strong social licence with the communities and Traditional Owner groups where the company operated.
There were also significant unanswered questions about the cost and plans for radioactive waste.
"These considerations mean AGL's ambition to add 12 gigawatts of new renewable and firming generation by 2035 does not include nuclear energy," Mr Nicks said.
"Policy certainty is important for companies like AGL and ongoing debate on the matter runs the risk of unnecessarily complicating the long-term investment decisions necessary for the energy transition."
On Friday, CSIRO chief executive Douglas Hilton defended the institution's research into energy generation following comments from Mr Dutton disparaging its findings that nuclear power would be the most expensive source of new energy for Australia.
"I will staunchly defend our scientists and our organisation against unfounded criticism," he said in a statement on Friday.
AGL reached a Final Investment Decision last December on a $750million, 500 megawatt battery to be located at the Liddell site.
Construction on the two-hour duration, grid-scale battery is underway, with the commencement of operations targeted for mid-2026.
Fluence has been selected as the preferred engineering, procurement and construction provider for the battery, which has an expected life of 20 years.
"The Final Investment Decision on the Liddell battery project marks another significant milestone in AGL's decarbonisation pathway and the transition of its energy portfolio," Mr Nicks said.
"We are excited to approve another major grid scale battery project in our development pipeline, supporting the local economy and creating energy transition jobs at our Hunter Energy Hub."
