ESTEVAN — The Government of Saskatchewan says its recent decision to extend the lifespan of coal-fired power generating units in the Estevan and Coronach areas won't affect its plans for small modular reactors (SMRs).
In an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½AV, Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for SaskPower and the Crown Investments Corporation, reiterated the government's plan to have Saskatchewan's first SMR built in the Estevan area, if the project proceeds. It's the same message Premier Scott Moe had during a visit to the Energy City last year.
The government wants to replaced coal-fired power with nuclear on a megawatt-for-megawatt basis, he said.
"We are moving forward with renewables, but there is no replacement for baseload power generation. Any megawatt of renewable you put on the grid has to be backed with baseload anyways," said Harrison.
The 1,500 megawatts of existing thermal coal will be a "pillar" of the system moving forward as Saskatchewan transitions to nuclear baseload power.
He added a specific location for the Estevan area has not been chosen as of yet. The government has been looking at Boundary Dam south of Estevan and Rafferty Dam south of Macoun as potential sites, but Harrison said those would be two of the options.
"We're going to be moving through the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission licensing process. So, as a part of that, there are a number of locations that would be identified as you go through that licensing process, so you don't really designate a specific spot at the very front end of the licensing process."
Harrison noted Ontario Power Generation has announced it is moving forward at the Darlington Nuclear Station with the technology that Saskatchewan, Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick have partnered with for developing SMRs.
"What is the nth unit cost going to be? That's something we're going to be paying very close attention to. We haven't closed the door to large-scale nuclear, either, and that really will be an economic decision as to what makes the most sense," said Harrison.
The regulatory approval process with SMRs is expected to take several years. From there, it will take a few more years to construct Saskatchewan's first SMR. Timelines released by SaskPower last year showed it hoped to have the first SMR operating by 2034.
The government was also looking at the Elbow area as an option for the first SMR.
