County withdraws letter supporting Alberta nuclear reactor

Woodlands County council is retracting a letter of support for a $6.2-billion nuclear power plant as the company behind the project decides where to buildAlberta's first reactor.

The council sent the letter in the spring, encouraging Energy Alberta Corp. to build the facility in nearby Whitecourt. But 300 people have sincesigned a petition asking the council to withdraw the letter until more questions are answered.

Mayor Jim Rennie said the county has drafted a new letter that says it still supports the idea, but needs more time.

"We need to make sure that our people have a chance to learn about this project properly and that will probably take two or three months, and at that point, they can make a decision if it's right for the community or not."

Alberta Energy Corp.may announce this week where it plans to build the province's first nuclear plant. The only other community that has expressed an interest in housing the reactor is Peace River.

The company'sambitious plan is to build two 1,100-megawatt nuclear powered generation plants in northwestern Alberta — the first 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.

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.

The last nuclear plant in Canada was built more than 25 years ago.