His proposal was part of a round of responses from across the political and community spectrum about the smelter that highlighted the awareness of the industry’s importance to Portland and the state.

Mr Purcell said he believed it was inevitable the smelter would close under the current power cost arrangements and cheaper nuclear power could encourage Alcoa to keep it operating.

Without the smelter, Portland would be a ghost town, he said.

He asked the state government to consult with the Portland community on whether it would accept nuclear power.

Mr Purcell’s proposal not surprisingly alarmed the Victorian Greens with its energy spokesperson Ellen Sandell saying Mr Purcell should get behind solar, wind and other renewable energy sources rather than nuclear power.

“The people of Portland need sustainable jobs and clean energy. They don't want a toxic waste problem and the dangers of a nuclear power plant in their backyard,” Ms Sandell said.

An earlier call by the Victorian Greens for the state government to fast-track the establishment of a taskforce to prepare Portland for the closure of the smelter was blasted by the Australian Workers Union.

AWU Victorian president Ben Davis said Alcoa’s Portland workers would be devastated by the Greens’ callous attitude to industry.

“It is becoming bleedingly obvious that the Greens’ best case scenario all too often coincides with the worst case for those who earn a living in manufacturing,” Mr Davis said.

The smelter’s uncertain fate also attracted comment from the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria that said dairying expansion could fill the economic revenue gap if the smelter closed.

However the UDV said dairying’s potential was being hamstrung by outdated electricity supply infrastructure.

There has been speculation it could be between three to six months before the smelter gets the second of its two potlines operating again but the company has declined to put a timeframe on it. The potline was damaged during a power outage last week.