Experts say the Coalition’s nuclear ambitions could be achievable within the most optimistic timelines, but Australia would likely face an energy production gap between the end of coal and the start of nuclear.

A series of top bureaucrats faced a Labour-led committee – which the Coalition said was set up to throw cold water on its nuclear energy policy – at its first hearing on Thursday .

The chair of Australia’s energy regulator, Clare Savage, told the parliamentary committee that even if the process of creating nuclear reactors began in 2025, much of the country’s “coal fleet” would not last until then. there.

A 2025 start-up would require a change of government and the repeal of Commonwealth and state bans on nuclear power.

“In terms of timelines just for the regulatory framework… as you deal with licensing, safety, environmental, technical and commercial regulations and you do legislation, rules, guidelines, consultations , I would have thought you would be looking at eight to 10 years for a regulatory framework,” Ms Savage said.

“I think nuclear can’t really fulfill the role of coal in the sense that coal can’t last until there’s a regulatory framework.

“Can we keep coal alive that long? I don’t think so, not in a profitable way for customers.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton revealed plans in June for seven nuclear power stations across the country, including at the Muja coal-fired power station near Collie, but has yet to detail the costs or how the Coalition would remove legal barriers at the state and federal level.

He said the first two sites could be active in 2035 or 2037, with the remainder to be built by 2050.

The Department of Energy has given further hope to the Coalition’s timetable, with division chief Clare McLaughlin saying the earliest Australia could “likely produce nuclear power would be in the late 20s 2030”.

This 10- to 15-year timetable was based in part on research by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Paul Graham, chief energy economist at the CSIRO, said only countries that were autocratic – and therefore had no need to consult communities – or were continually building nuclear power stations had been able to work on timelines of less than 15 years. .

Labor MP and committee chairman Dan Repacholi said it was clear from the evidence presented that Mr Dutton’s proposal was not realistic.

“They say nuclear power can take over from coal-fired power plants,” Mr. Repacholi said.

“As we know, 90 percent of these coal-fired power plants will reach the end of their life by 2035 and unfortunately we now know, thanks to the experts, that nuclear cannot be part of that mix to get there. “

Shadow energy minister Ted O’Brien described the committee as a “political affair”.

But he welcomed testimony from the Foreign Office that Australia had already ratified several international treaties required to manage a civilian nuclear program and had already established many of the safety regulations.

“It would bring that timeline closer to 10 years rather than 15 years,” Mr O’Brien said.