Two sites around Estevan are being considered for Sask’s first SMR, with final selection expected next year. A decision on whether to pursue SMRs won’t come until 2029.
Article content
It’s a long ways off, but if Saskatchewan decides to pursue a small modular reactor (SMR), SaskPower has confirmed it will be located near Estevan.
On Friday, the Crown corporation announced that its site selection has been narrowed to either the Boundary Dam Reservoir or the Rafferty Reservoir, both located just outside Estevan. This comes weeks after Premier Scott Moe unofficially spilled the beans at the Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Global Summit.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“I don’t think that’s been announced yet,” Moe said at the time.
Recommended from Editorial
Final site selection won’t happen until 2025 and the province isn’t expected to decide on whether to pursue an SMR until 2029. If the answer is yes, SaskPower intends to build its first nuclear reactor by 2034, with another to potentially follow shortly thereafter at the same facility.
Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig was in the room when Moe shoulder-tapped the Energy City.
“I went up to him after and shook his hand,” Ludwig said in an interview last week.
Despite uncertainty around whether the province will actually invest in nuclear technology, Ludwig falls firmly in the camp advocating for it as an alternative to power sources like coal, which Estevan relies upon.
“We feel it would be a great opportunity for Estevan moving down the road as the feds want us to transition from coal,” said Ludwig, who noted that a grid already exists in the region, adding to the attractiveness and viability of Estevan for an SMR.
Advertisement 3
Article content
The other thing Ludwig wants to focus on during a potential transition from coal to nuclear is the workforce, ensuring that people who work in the coal industry have the ability and support to move into nuclear power.
“If this opportunity will be coming our way, we’d like to get the education in place,” he said. “We have lots of great tradespeople who can then transition.”
The first SMR is expected to produce 315 megawatts, while the current coal-burning Boundary Dam Power Station generates 531 megawatts.
The Elbow area was the other region being considered for the province’s first SMR. SaskPower “continues to explore this area for potential future nuclear development,” the Crown said in a news release.
“The Estevan region offers many benefits, including proximity to the City of Estevan to access existing services, a skilled workforce, accommodations and emergency services, as well as infrastructure, roads and transmission,” SaskPower president and CEO Rupen Pandya said in the release.
In the lead-up to the decision, SaskPower has taken several steps toward the construction of an SMR. That includes joining the CANDU Owners Group (COG), which consists of groups operating CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactors in Canada and around the world. SaskPower also signed a deal with GE Hitachi Canada to use its BWRX-300 reactor design.
The move to nuclear is part of SaskPower’s plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier. At the same time, the government recently announced an “innovative incentive” that aims to achieve a plan to increase oil production in Saskatchewan by 25 per cent through a new multi-lateral well program.
Article content
