Nuclear power moves west
http://www.peacearchnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=44&cat=23&id=10...
By Tom Fletcher // Black Press // Aug 30 2007
Backers of Western Canada’s first nuclear reactor have chosen a site west of Peace River, Alta., about 100 km from the B.C. border.
“This is an historic moment for Canada, for Alberta and for the nuclear power industry,” said Wayne Henuset, president of Energy Alberta Corporation.
The privately held company has partnered with Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., the federal Crown corporation that builds CANDU reactors, to apply for a federal site permit on private land at Lac Cardinal in rural northwestern Alberta. Energy Alberta hopes to have the first of two twin-unit heavy water reactors online by 2017, producing 2,200 megawatts of power.
Peace River Mayor Lorne Mann welcomed the project, which has been the focus of public discussion in recent months at the proposed sites near Peace River and nearby Whitecourt.
“We understand that this is just the beginning of a lengthy process and we welcome the chance to become more informed about nuclear energy,” Mann said in a joint statement issued by the company.
Currently, the only operating Canadian nuclear power plants outside Ontario are in Quebec and New Brunswick. While B.C. has led other provinces in setting aggressive targets for greenhouse gas reductions, B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld has indicated that nuclear power is not on the table for B.C.
Alberta was a holdout at the recent premiers’ conference in Moncton, where B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell promoted a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions under the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). So far, B.C. and Manitoba are the only provinces to sign up, along with Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.
Last week the group announced its regional goal for the “cap” portion of the scheme, a reduction of greenhouse gases to 15 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. Campbell has set a more aggressive target for B.C., a 33 per cent cut from current levels by 2020.
Despite that goal, made more ambitious by B.C.’s booming economy, the latest major proposals for on-demand power production in B.C. have been natural gas-fired projects, to go along with liquefied natural gas import shipping terminals at Kitimat and Texada Island off the southern coast. Kitimat LNG Inc. has already received a federal permit to construct port facilities to offload gas and feed it into the B.C. pipeline grid.
With its rapidly rising emissions from oilsands development, Alberta is looking to nuclear power to help reduce emissions generated by extracting heavy oil.
Alberta declined B.C.’s invitation to take part in a carbon trading market. Ontario and Quebec have indicated they will participate in some form. The system allows industries to sell unused credits while the region stays under a pre-determined emission limit.
