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Small Nuclear Reactors On Province’s 2022 Plans

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Alberta announced in August 2020 that it would join Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick in exploring and developing small reactors. The four provinces plan to collaborate on nuclear reactor technology in the new year.

The small modular reactor (SMR) strategic plan is currently being developed, and Alberta says it will be released soon as Jennifer Henshaw, Energy Minister Sonya Savage’s press secretary, said in a statement “[The] provinces are aiming to release the plan in early 2022,”.

“If you’re going to get to net zero [emissions], there is no way to do this without nuclear. And given the importance of the oil sands in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this may be the opportunity,” Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University who is also an expert in Canada’s history with nuclear energy, said. 

Atoms are broken apart in order to produce heat that can be used to generate electricity. SMRs don’t emit any carbon dioxide during operation. However, the dangers of disposing of radioactive waste have questioned its status as a truly clean energy source.

Nuclear reactors in Canada typically produce 800 megawatts of power, enough to power about 600,000 homes at once, supposing that one megawatt can power about 750 homes per megawatt of power. The term SMR, on the other hand, refers to units that generate less than 300 megawatts of power, some SMRs are tiny enough that they could fit in a high school gym.

Ontario Power Generation says it plans to have two SMRs operational by 2028, despite the fact that no SMRs have yet been built and are expected to be installed in Saskatchewan by 2032. Small reactors are less expensive and require less complex engineering than the large ones.

SMRs could be able to supply oil sands facilities with largely emission-free energy, according to an intergovernmental committee and industry stakeholders’ roadmap prepared last year.

 However it says that costs and regulations could pose a significant challenge.

Original source material for this article taken from here

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Written by Olivia Woods

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