Nuclear

SaskPower targets two sites for possible nuclear power plants

A final decision remains years away, but the Canadian utility is stepping up its work to site a small modular reactor.
SaskPower targets two sites for possible nuclear power plants
(Gardiner Dam power turbines. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Graham Purse)

Save the date: 2029. That’s the year when Canadian utility SaskPower could decide whether or not to deploy one or more small modular reactors.

As part of the utility’s planning and regulatory work, it identified two areas for further study. The Estevan study area includes the areas around Boundary/Rafferty Dam and around the Grant Devine Dam. The Elbow study area includes an area around Lake Diefenbaker, from Gardiner Dam to the Diefenbaker Dam.

The Estevan site is close to the Boundary Dam power station, which is Saskatchewan’s largest coal-fired power plant. The Gardiner Dam site plays host to around 186 MW of hydropower generating capacity.

SaskPower chose the two sites based on requirements of the various SMR technologies that the utility evaluated earlier this year. Some of the criteria include proximity to a suitable water supply, existing power infrastructure, workforce, nuclear regulations and standards, and learnings from earlier generation siting projects.

Although a final decision won’t happen until 2029, planning and regulatory work must be done now, the utility said.

SaskPower said it plans to set up engagement activities with indigenous rightsholders, rural and urban municipalities, businesses, residents, and other stakeholders both within the study areas, and across the province.

The utility will also meet with non-government organizations, government ministries and agencies, and other organizations.

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