County residents to vote on nuclear power plant

Woodlands county council voted Tuesday to hold a plebiscite on a proposal to build Alberta's first nuclear power plant just north of Whitecourt.

CountyCoun. Leanne Caron said she expects the vote will be held within a month and voters will say "yes" to nuclear power.

Energy Alberta Corp. has already bought land just north of Whitecourt, within Woodland County's borders.

Bernard Krohn, a Fort Assiniboine resident who organized a public meeting on the plant, said residents need time to review both sides of the issue before they vote.

"There seems to be a tremendous push that this process run ahead,' he said.

Earlier this month, the county retracted a letter of support for the $6.2-billion plant, saying council still supports the idea but needs more time.

Alberta Energy's ambitious plan is to build two 1,100-megawatt nuclear powered generation plants in northwestern Alberta, the first such plant in the province.

The two-year-old company partnered with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the federal Crown corporation and maker of Candu reactors, to provide the science and expertise. It also lined up a bank for financing and started collecting potential clients.

The only other community that has expressed an interest in housing the reactor is Peace River.

Energy Alberta officials have said the plants could be built in eight to 10 years, would provide a stable supply of electricity and would not produce much greenhouse gas.