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Government’s nuclear decision criticized
Theresa Seraphim
Spotlight Staff
The province’s recent decision to go ahead with nuclear power plant requests is making members of one local group uneasy.
“REAC (the Regional Environmental Action Committee) is very concerned about the environmental aspects of nuclear power,” noted Jule Asterisk.
However, said Jerry Bellikka, director of communications for Alberta Energy, contrary to what many people may think, the province is not giving carte blanche to nuclear – or any other type of – generation.
“We haven’t said we’re going ahead with it – we’re doing it on a case-by-case basis,” said Bellikka.
He said it’s not true that, as some media have said, the government is giving a “green light” to nuclear energy.
“It’s more of an amber light.”
Asterisk said the amount of consultation the government did was minimal.
Bellikka disagreed, saying the province held three types of consultation: an online survey, answered by several thousand people; community meetings to which stakeholders were invited (but which were not public forums); and a telephone survey. All were conducted by Innovative Research.
Bellikka said the meetings involved groups such as Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Alberta, the Sierra Club, the Pembina Institute and the Tipping Point Project.
“There were a variety of groups that were invited to participate.”
Asterisk said most people participating in the telephone poll were in favour of renewable forms of energy.
“They (the government) ignored it,” she said, adding the province is not in favour of renewable forms of energy.
Bellikka said the government does support such energy sources, including solar, geothermal and hydroelectric.
He also stressed the province doesn’t decide what kind of generator gets built (that’s the role of the federal regulatory commission), nor does it pay for generators. A private firm would have to approach the Alberta Utilities Commission to get onto the power grid, and the province’s role is to determine the health, safety and environmental aspects of the proposed generator.
The company would have to ensure the electricity would be circulated around the province, said Bellikka, adding the cost of building facilities would go into the billions of dollars.
“Nobody’s banging the door down to do it right now.”
Asterisk said there is a difference between nuclear fission (where atoms are split in order to generate electricity) and nuclear fusion (where atoms are joined). The former results in waste, while the latter doesn’t, she said.
“Why build old polluting kind (of generators) if a new (kind of energy) is coming on?” Asterisk asked.
Bellikka said the government recognizes that some people do have an issue with nuclear energy.
“We’re saying we’re going to proceed with caution and see where it goes. We’re not going to rubber stamp anything.”
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