Energy Alberta hosts nuclear plant proposal consultation meeting in Falher

Kevin Laliberte
Smoky River Express

A relatively modest turnout in Falher to an information session held Sept. 27 by Energy Alberta Corporation regarding construction of a $6.2-billion nuclear reactor near Peace River didn’t go unnoticed. The issue was raised by Smoky River Express Editor Kevin Laliberte during the Sept. 27th public meeting, which drew a relatively sparse crowd of around one dozen individuals. “Ideally, it would have been favourable from our vantage point to give residents some advance notification beforehand about this information session in the local newspaper,” Laliberte explained. Guy Huntingford, director of media and public relations for Energy Alberta, responded to the concerns by indicating that they missed the weekly deadline for advertising the event in the Express. “We did, however, manage to inform the general public by way of radio advertising in addition to placing posters up within the community,” said Huntingford. When asked if a similar information session would be scheduled for the region to give residents an opportunity to hear in depth details about the proposed project, Huntingford responded favourably. “We will be making a concerted effort to return to the region at some point in the future as part of our overall public consultation process,” he emphasized, adding that all towns and municipal districts are being targeted as part of the consultative process. The morning information session was held as part of an informative consultation process to bring residents up to speed on the status of the proposal and address concerns. “Our mission is to be a viable and responsible provider of clean emission-free energy, utilizing advanced and proven nuclear technology to supply Alberta with a stable and reliable flow of electricity at a competitive cost,” says Steve Kamajian, executive assistant of project development for Energy Alberta. Joining him at the informational meeting were Richard Robinson, associate senior environmental scientist for Golder Associates Ltd. based in Calgary, Stella Swanson of Swanson Environment Strategies Ltd. and Jeremy Whitlock and Dr. Roland Boucher of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Kamajian outlined the benefits of the proposed project to Alberta in a detailed power-point presentation. “This project will bring stability to the supply and price electricity while diversifying Alberta’s dependency on the oil and gas industry,” he added. Power from the reactors would be used in oil sands extraction, which uses large volumes of steam to soften and recover oil from the gritty mixtures of bitumen. Other benefits are said to include a dependable tax stream for Alberta, reduced future exposure to carbon taxes, and long-term business opportunities and job creation – estimated at approximately 900 positions. Energy Alberta Corp. announced Aug. 27 that it had filed a formal application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to construct a nuclear power plant in Alberta that aims to be in service within 10 years. The Calgary, Alberta-based company’s application is for two twin-unit ACR-1000 advanced CANDU reactors just west of Peace River in northern Alberta. Energy Alberta teamed with state-owned Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., plans to build one twin-unit reactor capable of producing 2,200 megawatts of electricity by early 2017. The proposed site is on private land located next to Lac Cardinal, about 30 kilometres west of the community of Peace River. The ACR-1000 is a Generation III+, 1200 MWe class nuclear power plant built on the pedigree and proven success of AECL’s CANDU nuclear technology. The ACR-1000 incorporates 80 per cent of the technical specification from the proven CANDU 6 design such as a modular, horizontal fuel channel core, a low-temperature heavy-water moderator, water-filled vault, two independent diverse shutdown systems, on-power fuelling and a reactor building accessible for on-power maintenance. The reactor project, which continues to receive its fair share of support and opposition, will be subject to an extensive review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act as part of the application consideration process. “The application is the start of a long multi-year process to look at the feasibility of EAC’s application,” says Kamajian, noting that the comprehensive environmental assessment typically takes about three years. Additional concerns addressed during the meeting included everything from water consumption to radioactive handling and storage and other safety measures. Detailed information and pamphlets are available at the Express office in Falher.