Location search for Sask.'s 1st nuclear reactor narrowed down to Estevan area: SaskPower
If project is approved in 2029, goal is to have the reactor operational by the mid 2030s: minister
The minister responsible for SaskPower says the search for a location for the province's first small nuclear reactor has been narrowed down to the Estevan area.
Dustin Duncan said two high-potential sites have been identified for further study. Those are the Boundary Dam Reservoir and the Rafferty Reservoir, both of which are located about 10 kilometres away from the city of Estevan, in southeastern Saskatchewan.
The power utility is expected to select a final host site in 2025. Data collected throughout 2024 will be intended to help identify a final site, while protecting the natural environment through minimizing impacts to sensitive lands and habitats, SaskPower said in a Friday news release.
Duncan said the power utility was also considering Elbow, northwest of Regina, as a potential area, but because Estevan has more existing power infrastructure from current operations, the nearby reservoirs are better options.
"We have infrastructure down there like roads, and especially the transmission lines. So we have the ability to get any power that is produced down in Estevan out to the rest of the province," Duncan said Friday.
"There wouldn't need to be a large-scale transmission that would have to be built the … [way] that there would be in the Elbow region."
Duncan said site selection is necessary to enable the power utility's final decision on whether to invest in a small modular reactor.
WATCH | Feds announce up to $74M for SMR development in Sask. in August 2023:
Small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, can produce electricity in the range of 50 to 300 megawatts, but can be small enough to fit in a school gymnasium and are transportable.
A final decision on whether to build an SMR in Saskatchewan isn't expected until 2029, but the planning process has been moving ahead with SaskPower put in charge of development and implementation in the province.
If SaskPower decides to go ahead with the project, the goal is to build a first 315-megawatt reactor by 2034, with another to potentially follow shortly after at the same facility, the utility says.
Duncan said SaskPower hasn't ruled out the possibility of future nuclear development in the Elbow region.
Positive for the community: Estevan mayor
Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig said people are happy about the prospect of a small modular reactor being built near the city.
"We look at this as a part of our future — these are well-paying jobs," Ludwig said.
"You're looking at probably five years to build the first one, 1,500 people employed to build that, then once they're built 150 to 200 people [employed] moving forward for the next 60 years," he said.
"So optimistically, we're hoping the first one will be built by 2034 or 2035, the second one by 2040. It's a very positive thing for our community."
Ludwig said there are many trained SaskPower employees already working in Estevan who will be able to work in construction and operation of the reactor.
There are also conversations about having training courses at the community college in Estevan to allow locals to get the proper training to work on the reactor, he said.
Duncan said having that skilled workforce already in Estevan played a role in SaskPower's decision to go forward with further studies in the region.
"I think at the end of the day, a community like Estevan will really see a benefit from the development of an entirely new industry," Duncan said.
"Hopefully we'll replace not just the jobs that potentially would be going away because of coal-fired power plants and coal mining … but in fact it would be an opportunity to see even more jobs in the area because of all the spinoff that you could potentially see from nuclear."
Estevan is also well-equipped to deal with a project of this magnitude due to its available accommodation and emergency services, Duncan said.
SMR could help Sask. reach net-zero by 2050: Duncan
Duncan said SaskPower would use the small modular nuclear reactor to heat the water from the dams, and the steam would then turn a turbine to produce electricity.
Building a small modular nuclear reactor could be a big part of helping SaskPower reach its goal of being net-zero by 2050, said Duncan.
"Nuclear has essentially a zero-carbon-emission profile, and so it's really a part of ensuring that we do have baseload reliable, safe power going forward," he said.
"What our customers are telling us both on the residential side as well as the industrial side is they're looking for SaskPower to be producing power into the future that doesn't have as much, or frankly no, carbon emissions associated with the power production."
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