New Brunswick (NB) Power in Canada will soon apply to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in preparation for small modular reactors (SMR) at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in Charlotte County.
     Heather McKnight is an engineer with NB Power. She said that the provincial utility is currently in the “pre-project” phase. It will soon be submitting a license to prepare to the CNSC. This is the first step in a three-step process to bring generation-four SMRs to the Canadian province. She went on to say to the Saint Andrews town council that “It will prepare the site for construction that will begin years down the road.”  She added that it will run in conjunction with environmental assessments.
     NB power hopes to submit the license to prepare by the end of June. The license will be the official start for the project which could see New Brunswick become the first province to generate electricity via a generation-four reactor that is more advanced than the current widely used CANDU reactor technology.
     ARC Clean Energy Canada is committed to a 2029 launch date for its SMR at the Point Lepreau facility.  Moltex Energy is also planning to deploy its SMR at Point Lepreau facility within a similar time frame.
      McKnight said that as a scale of reference for comparison, each of these SMRs will be approximately half the size of the Costco warehouse on Saint John’s east side. She added that there is potential to add more nuclear reactors in northern New Brunswick. She said, “These reactors aren’t just targeted for power production.” They can also be used to provide steam heating for industrial purposes.
     NB Power is currently mandated to provide four gigawatts of power at any given time. Currently about half of that power comes from “clean” sources, including hydro, nuclear, wind, solar and biomass. Additional energy is imported from Quebec and New England. The other half of the power is currently supplied by Belledune’s coal plant, the Coleson Cove generator in Lorneville, Millbank in Miramichi, and the Bayside generator. The last three generators run off natural gas or oil.
     New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing them to SMR development. Don Morgan is Saskatchewan’s Minister of Crown Investment Corporations and minister responsible for SaskPower. SaskPower is the principal electric utility in Saskatchewan, Canada. Established in 1929 by the provincial government, it serves more than 538,000 customers and manages over $11.8 billion in assets. Morgan toured Point Lepreau last summer. He said that his prairie province was locking east for inspiration on how to develop nuclear energy.
     In 2021, the federal government passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. This legislation outlines the country’s commitment to net-zero emission by 2050. Net-zero can be achieved by both reducing energy emissions and offsetting any carbon emissions by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs). These are used to procure renewable energy sources.
     SNC Lavalin’s Net Zero 2050 report includes oil and gas use decreasing by thirty percent. This was done in part due to SMRs replacing fossil fuels.