Saskatchewan expands its nuclear plans

Background: It’s been nearly 10 years since SaskPower began looking into a potential SMR deployment. In 2017, the utility signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario Power Generation to look at the possibility of deploying SMRs in both utilities’ respective provinces.

Since then, OPG has made massive strides on its Darlington New Nuclear Project, which involves the construction of four GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy BWRX-300 SMRs on the shore of Lake Ontario. The Darlington project is set to see the first operational commercial SMR in North America and the first power reactor to come on line in Ontario in more than three decades.

SaskPower hopes to follow OPG’s playbook as it works toward achieving a net-zero greenhouse-gas emission power system by 2050. In an energy strategy plan released last year, the provincial government stated that SaskPower remains engaged with OPG “to learn from Ontario’s deployment of the first BWRX-300.”

The utility is expected to choose its final SMR site (which is expected to be near the city of Estevan) later this year. A final investment decision is expected in 2029, and the potential deployment of a BWRX-300 is tentatively expected in the 2030s.

Notable investments: Aside from MOUs and feasibility studies, Saskatchewan is also directly funding the broader infrastructure needed for new development. In October the province announced its plans to invest C$6.3 million ($4.5 million) to establish four new nuclear research chairs at postsecondary institutions in Saskatchewan. Those chairs will “help build the nuclear engineering capacity and training Saskatchewan will need as we move toward our future nuclear reality,” according to Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for SaskPower.

Earlier this month, the University of Regina—also in the province—announced that it is in the process of establishing the Small Modular Reactor Safety, Licensing, and Testing Centre, the province’s first SMR testing facility. This project is being supported by C$6 million ($4.4 million) in both provincial and federal funding.

Back to large nuclear: While the timeline for SaskPower’s SMR ambitions is quite clear, much is still unknown on the large nuclear front. According to the latest announcement, “significant additional regulatory, siting and engagement work are needed before any construction can begin on a new nuclear project.”

However, SaskPower president and CEO Rupen Pandya said, “potentially bringing a large reactor on line will take at least 15 to 20 years,” and that the utility will “will leverage partnerships with experienced nuclear operators and will continue to engage with Indigenous rightsholders, Saskatchewan’s communities, and businesses as we consider the potential deployment of large nuclear reactors.”