'In the national interest': Dutton spruiks nuclear vision in Muswellbrook

But if the company refuses, Mr Dutton confirmed the government would move to seize the land in the national interest.

Muswellbrook is one of seven sites around Australia that the Coalition has earmarked for potential nuclear reactors if it wins government.

Mr Dutton and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce met with council, community and business representatives on Wednesday to discuss the Coalition's nuclear plans.

The Liddell site, which has strategic access to large volumes of water and a high voltage gird connection, is considered critical to the Coalition's plans.

However, AGL, which wants to transform it into a clean energy hub, has ruled out allowing nuclear on the site.

Mr Dutton said he had not given up on reaching an agreement with AGL.

"I'm very confident we can (reach an agreement) because I think common sense prevails in the end," he said.

"We do want renewable energy in the mix and we want gas and we want 24-7 baseload power for when the intermittent energy sources aren't working and that's nuclear."

"If we do that we can work with companies. We will see in a community like Muswellbrook heavy industry returning to the region or establishing in the region because there is a lower energy cost because you have got lower distribution costs."

Ultimately a national interest test would be applied to sites such as Liddell.

"If the owners of the land don't want to participate in what we believe is a crucial part of the national energy grid we will acquire those sites," he said.

"The Commonwealth has power to acquire the sites under just terms. It will be done because it is in our country's best interest to do so."

Mr Dutton rejected the findings of a new report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Among its findings were that the nascent state of small modular nuclear reactors globally meant a mature market for the technology may emerge in the late 2040s.

The academy's report said there were no licensed designs, or constructed or operating small modular reactors in any OECD countries. The cost and operational performance of the technology had not been demonstrated.

The report also found installing two reactors built by 2037 would only add between 600MW and 940MW capacity into the grid, based on Westinghouse and Rolls Royce small modular reactor capacity forecasts.

Australia added 2,800MW of utility scale solar and wind capacity to the grid last year.

The Coalition is also yet to provide costings for its nuclear energy plan.

Despite that, Mr Dutton insisted that overseas experience demonstrated that nuclear was the only solution to providing cost effective baseload power.

"If you look at comparable markets. In Ontario (Canada) they are paying about a quarter of the price of electricity that we are here because because they have got 60 to 70 per cent nuclear in the system along with renewables, which are incredibly important," he said.

Muswellbrook mayor Steve Reynolds said while the council did not have a formal position on nuclear energy, he recognised there was significant community support for it.

"The community has spoken. I held a mayoral listening post last Friday and it seems to be the the way people want to go," he said.

Barnaby Joyce, whose seat of New England will take in Muswellbrook under a boundary redistribution, said nuclear would allow towns like Muswellbrook to remain at the forefront of Australia's energy generation.

"We will get the boilermakers back, the electricians back and the fitters and turners back. There will be jobs for people in Muswellbrook. People will have a good standard of living. In doing that we provide this nation with the capacity to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible."