Alberta eyes incorporating nuclear energy into its power grid
Alberta announced it will begin holding public consultations on introducing nuclear power to the provincial grid, with plans to have small modular reactors facilitate energy for its oil sands.
Author: Quinn Patrick
Alberta announced it will begin holding public consultations on introducing nuclear power to the provincial grid, with plans to have small modular reactors facilitate energy for its oil sands.
"We want to talk to Albertans, because it's new for us," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters alongside Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the annual Calgary Stampede breakfast.
The two premiers were together after signing two new memoranda of understanding regarding new “transformational” interprovincial trade agreements and their commitment to bolstering the energy sector on Monday.
Alberta has traditionally relied on greenhouse-gas emitting natural gas to power electricity, but that may change following consultation sessions.
“It’s not new for Ontario. Ontario gets 60 per cent of its power, I understand, on its grid from nuclear energy,” said Smith. “Our oilsands projects are perfect for it, if you can get both the power and steam, power and heat.”
Smith added that small modular reactors would likely be the most appropriate choice for remote rural sites, which require vast quantities of energy to operate.
SMRs are capable of generating roughly one-third of the power that traditional nuclear plants can.
Additionally, they offer the benefit of being able to be prefabricated elsewhere before arriving on site.
An SMR is currently being built by Ontario Power Generation at its Darlington site outside Toronto.
Once completed, it will mark the first time a power company in North America connects such a plant to the grid.
OPG also has plans to construct three additional SMR units there in the future. According to Ford, the units themselves don’t employ many people once in operation but will help facilitate tech giants like Amazon or Google in establishing AI data centres in Ontario.
“And that’s where the jobs are created because they just suck an endless amount of energy, these data centres,” said Ford. “So that’s the way of the future. We’re leading the world and we’re going to make sure we share that technology right across the country.”
Energy Alberta is currently working on a power station in the Peace River area that could power up to a quarter of the province’s existing electricity generation.
The Peace River Nuclear Power Project is undergoing its federal review process. The site will potentially have two to four Candu reactors with a capacity of up to 4,800 megawatts.
“We initially thought, ‘Wow, that would swamp our power grid,’” said Smith. “And now with all the demands for AI data centres, we’re thinking, ‘Hmm, that’s maybe exactly what we need.’”
Parliamentary Secretary for Affordability and Utilities Chantelle de Jonge will host the consultations in September or October.
Beware of fat Doug Ford.