The province of Noord-Brabant wants to investigate using more nuclear energy because it would take up far less space than wind and solar power but would reduce harmful emissions, report Dutch media.

In an online press briefing, regional council energy chief Eric de Bie, said he wanted to create a coalition of government, businesses and researchers to build new nuclear power plants between 2030 and 2050. De Bie is a member of the pro-nuclear far right party Forum voor Democratie.

A report by the TNO and NRG research institutes, commissioned by the region, said that a plant would take around 11 years to build in the Netherlands, reports NOS. It would apparently be more expensive than investing in wind or solar energy but would take up 100 to 1000 times less space.

Nuclear energy has been a controversial topic in the country, which is struggling to meet its climate goals. Last year MPs passed a motion from Mark Rutte’s VVD and the Christian Democratic Appeal calling on the government to ‘look seriously’ at the business case for building new nuclear power stations.