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Latest Headlines
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Dec 17, 2009 1:42:00 PM MST
Saskatchewan says it won''t back nuclear power plant ''at this time'' (Sask-Nuclear-Debate)
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REGINA _ Saskatchewan has stopped short of giving a green light to a nuclear power plant, but it isn´t putting up a permanent stop sign either.
Energy Minister Bill Boyd said Thursday that a proposal from Ontario-based Bruce Power for a large-scale plant in Saskatchewan will not move forward. The government also won´t support a recommendation to speed up plans for nuclear power, said Boyd.
"We are of the view that this is simply not something that meets with the needs of Saskatchewan at this particular time," Boyd said at a news conference.
It´s the second time in a week that the contentious issue has come up on the Prairies.
Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight said Monday that his province will look at proposals for nuclear power plants on a case-by-case basis, but it won´t help to fund them or promise to buy the energy. The announcement capped a lengthy review of whether Alberta should go with nuclear or ban it, as some provinces have done.
Boyd said energy demand going forward to 2020 was one of the key factors in the Saskatchewan decision. SaskPower, the government-owned utility, estimates the province will need about 100 new megawatts of power a year over the coming years.
"Based on SaskPower´s current demand forecast ... we can not support the addition of 1,000 megawatts as proposed from a single nuclear reactor," said Boyd.
"SaskPower has identified other renewable power options for the medium term which hold great promise and would make it unreasonable to consider a 1,000 megawatt facility coming on stream in the 2019-2020 time frame. In addition ... we have determined that the scale of the project s real concerns for us around the final cost to consumers."
Nuclear power would be a "very expensive generation source," he added.
Opening the door to nuclear power was one of the recommendations made in April by a government-appointed 12-member panel, known as the Uranium Development Partnership.
The group was tasked with studying the nuclear cycle from mining through to disposal. Saskatchewan is the world´s largest producer of uranium, the key component in nuclear power generation, but mining the raw material is as far as the province has gone.
However, public consultations found that most Saskatchewan residents oppose building a nuclear power plant.
Boyd acknowledged Thursday there was opposition from people who attended the consultations, but said he believes there is support for nuclear power and "the government remains pro-nuclear," he said.
"When you look at beyond 2020, we still think it should be in the basket of options that SaskPower has to take a look at," said Boyd.
Bruce Power spokesman John Peevers said Thursday that there "never was any proposal" just a feasibility study, identifying a region from Prince Albert west to Lloydminster as a good spot to build a nuclear power plant. That study released last year suggested the plant could be in operation by 2018 and contribute 1,000 megawatts of electricity to the province by 2020.
Peevers said Bruce wasn´t disappointed by the government´s announcement.
"We´re pleased to see Saskatchewan continues to consider nuclear energy as part of its mix," Peevers said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.
"The announcement doesn´t really change much for us. We´d always been looking at 2020 and beyond. Nuclear is a lot of things but fast is not one of them. Short-term, it was not something we were really looking at anyway."
Boyd said Saskatchewan still intends to move down path toward uranium value-added opportunities. That includes exploration and mining, medical isotope production and _ potentially _ waste management.
The Uranium Development Partnership said that storage of nuclear waste would be a good economic option for the province, but it must have community support. Premier Brad Wall has said he doesn´t believe Saskatchewan residents want to go in that direction.
But Boyd suggested Thursday that the government could open the door to the idea.
"We are qualifying it somewhat by saying that if a community came forward and said that they were interested in this, we would take a look at it," said Boyd.
"That does not mean that it would be granted approval. We´re simply saying that it´s something that we would consider at that particular time, if and when a proposal came forward. We have received nothing."
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