Q&A: Small modular reactor proponents are gathering in Edmonton. Could SMRs work here?

Government officials, power companies, and nuclear advocates are gathering in Edmonton for the Small Modular Reactor Forum this week.

The speakers list includes Energy Minister Brian Jean, whose 2023 mandate letter from Premier Danielle Smith mentioned small modular reactors three times. Proponents say the prefabricated reactors are the first step toward a nuclear future.

Rumina Velshi, former president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, is the keynote speaker for the conference. She says Alberta is on the verge of adopting nuclear.

She joined CBC's Edmonton AM ahead of her address.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Are there actually working SMRs existing right now? How many?

Yes, there are. And actually they've been around for a while. Nuclear submarines have been using SMRs — so not for civilian purposes. 

But today there are SMRs deployed in Russia and China and there is a test reactor in Japan. Outside Russia and China, there are no commercial SMRs in operation.

How do they work?

Let me walk you through the acronym SMRs to help describe that. 

Let's start with the "R" — they're reactors, so they split atoms. It's fission. That's where heat gets produced, very similar to large reactors.

The "S" is for small — this is what makes them different. The International Atomic Energy Agency defines a small modular reactor as anything that is less than 300 megawatts of electricity — so enough to power 300,000 homes.

And the "M" for modular, I find that really the exciting part because these are manufactured in factories and then assembled on site. 

Because they're small, the capital costs are lower. They are more accessible for countries who in the past could not entertain nuclear power just because of the high costs.

There are different applications. It's not just for electricity that you can use SMRs. You could use it to produce hydrogen for desalination, or for process heat — like in the oil sands for instance. And the really small ones can be used in remote communities to get folks off diesel.

So many, many applications available, and the initial capital cost is lower. That just means that there's a whole lot of interest in SMRs globally.

Edmonton AM6:52Could nuclear power become a reality in Alberta?

Small modular reactors are compact, prefabricated nuclear power generators. Edmonton is hosting an SMR conference this week. The keynote presentation will be from Rumina Velshi, former president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Say we wanted one here in Edmonton on the north side, how big of a project are we talking about?

They're not that small — you can't put them on a flatbed truck. 

The first one in a G7 country that is being contemplated to be built is in Ontario at the Darlington site where they're planning on building four 300 megawatt SMRs.

They are going through their licensing process. And if that is successful, they should have the spade in the ground to start construction early in the new year. 

So while the footprint is smaller than large reactors, they're pretty sizable. Depending on how many units you build, you could get four in a city block. 

And that's one of the advantages of nuclear power. It's very dense when it comes to its footprint.

A lot of people worry about the possibility of accidents. How different are these new reactors from older technology?

They do have enhanced safety features. And so certainly as a regulator we're extremely interested in that. 

They're called passive safety systems. So if things go wrong, there is no need for human intervention, things just shut down. And so that's probably one of the biggest differences. 

Not that our existing fleet are not safe, they absolutely are, but as we strive for greater safety, these have those built in.

There's a proposed nuclear project north of Peace River that may be taking 10 to 15 years to build. How quickly could a SMR be landed in Edmonton and put to good use?

In Peace River, those are for large reactors. 

I mentioned the ones that are going to be built at the Darlington site; those are expected to be in service starting in 2029. So construction starts next year, and will take four years to get online.

And remember, that is the first one. As you start building a lot more, you'll hopefully find an assembly line operation — so much quicker.

And where are they being built — is it off-site?

The different components and equipment are being built off site. The Darlington reactor is built in situ because part of it is underground. But those different components, once you start building more, they'll be more factory built.