Regional Australia is having its "phoenix moment" as more people move to the bush, but some residents fear the coalition's nuclear plan could hinder growth and prosperity.
The coalition has earmarked seven sites for nuclear reactors at former and closing coal power plants across Australia, including at Lithgow's Mount Piper power station in central west NSW.
Tom Evangelidis, who sits on Lithgow City Council, told a parliamentary inquiry his family moved to the town at the foot of the NSW Blue Mountains four years ago for its affordability and proximity to Sydney.
The presence of a nuclear reactor could dissuade others from settling in the region at a time when it is planning a bright future, Mr Evangelidis said.
"This is our phoenix moment," he told the parliamentary committee sitting in Lithgow on Wednesday.
"Nuclear in our region will stop that."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged to release the costings of his nuclear plan soon, having slammed an experts' report that showed solar and wind remained the cheapest forms of energy.
Mount Piper operator EnergyAustralia has plans for a 500-megawatt battery energy storage system adjacent to the site, while also looking into pumped hydro at nearby Lake Lyell.
Further west near Dubbo, there is a proposed Renewable Energy Zone, with 4.5 gigawatts of potential capacity through solar, wind and new transmission infrastructure.
Peter Hennessy, who lives on a property at Bathurst, said communities have been left "high and dry" by planning laws and consultation on renewable projects.
"(Energy Minister Chris Bowen) would have solar everywhere, couldn't care less about the countryside at all," Mr Hennessy said.
"(It's) just an absolute disgrace and total disregard to the welfare of the land or the people surrounding or indeed anywhere else."
Jim Blackwood, a retired GP and vice-president of the Bathurst Community Climate Action Network, said it was redundant to debate the pros and cons of nuclear because it would take too long to establish.
"The issue is we need to do something now, and we need to do it in a time frame that is going to make a difference," Dr Blackwood told the hearing.
Lithgow is at the front line of climate change tensions, facing the end of its economic base in the fossil fuel industry while also recovering from the Black Summer bushfires.
"Four years ago, this whole town was surrounded by an inferno, a raging inferno," Dr Blackwood said.
"All the hills were a fire, and so those two things are basically what's confronting all of us."
The inquiry is due to sit in Sydney on Thursday.
