The future of nuclear power is emerging as a hot topic in the NDP leadership race, with two candidates speaking out on the issue Tuesday.

One of them, Yens Pedersen, is holding a morning news conference in Saskatoon.

He says nuclear power is expensive and risky — with dangers to health and the environment that are not fully known. Pedersen says if politicians think it's safe, they should build a nuclear power plant on Wascana Lake near the legislature or in downtown Saskatoon.

He is urging the NDP caucus to vote against a motion from Saskatchewan Party MLA Jeremy Harrison supporting the development of nuclear generation in the province.

Pedersen is also worried that if the NDP supports nuclear power, it could push rank-and-file New Democrats to vote for the Green party.

"This is not some innocuous statement about 'considering' options — it is a slanted and one-sided motion and supporting it could cause thousands of Saskatchewan people to 'consider' supporting the Green party," he said in a news release.

A second candidate, Ryan Meili, is taking a similar approach, urging NDP MLAs to vote against the motion. He wants Saskatchewan to pursue alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.

Meili also criticized the Uranium Development Partnership panel that's delivering a report to the government Tuesday about nuclear options, saying members were handpicked to give Premier Brad Wall the answer he wants.

"Many of us will remember countless expert panels on this issue over the years," Meili said in a news release. "My fellow leadership candidate Dwain Lingenfelter has proposed a panel of his own to study this issue. Many progressive activists have become quite cynical about these studies/panels/commissions."

Lingenfelter, a former deputy premier in former premier Roy Romanow's cabinet, has been described as the most pro-nuclear of the candidates running to replace NDP Leader Lorne Calvert.

But in recent weeks, Lingenfelter has also been critical of how the Saskatchewan Party has been studying the issue.

The Saskatchewan New Democrats pick a new leader in June. Moose Jaw Wakamow MLA Deb Higgins is also running for the leadership.