No buyer for nuclear power, Alberta company says

A Calgary-based company that wants to build a nuclear power plant in northern Alberta denies saying it had a purchaser lined up to buy70 per cent of the power produced.

When Energy Albertaannouncedin August that it had filed an application to build the plant near Peace River, president Wayne Henuset told CBC Newsit had a deal to sell the most of the power, buthe would not say who the buyer was.

In an interviewMonday,Henuset denied some of those statements, saying there must have been a misunderstanding.

Although he said there are potential buyers, it would be impossible to finalize a deal atthis stage when the project still faces what will likely be a lengthy regulatory process.

"There is a number of companies that are, right now, if we could give them a firm price, we could start our negotiations for a PPA [Power Purchase Agreement] but we're not ready for that at this point," Henuset said.

Oil and utility companies are among the potential buyers he has had discussions with, he said.

Peace River Mayor Lorne Mann, a supporter of the nuclear plant, does not believe the company has made contradictory statements but admits some people may have been left with the wrong impression. The proposed $6-billion plant would be built on private land near Lac Cardinal, about 30 kilometres from the community.