Bruce Power drops plans for nuclear project in Alberta

Bruce Power has officially scrapped plans to build a new nuclear power plant in the Canadian province of Alberta. The company says that it has made a ‘business decision’ to focus on the investment programme at the Bruce site in Ontario.

Bruce Power had been considering building a new nuclear power plant in Alberta since its 2007 acquisition of Energy Alberta. It had conducted environmental assessments, leading to the identification of a two potential sites in Peace County. The Whitemud site approximately 30 km north of Peace River was selected in March 2009 as the preferred site for the four-reactor Peace River nuclear power plant project. Also in 2009, the government of Alberta's nuclear consultation process confirmed that nuclear technology could play a role in the province's future energy mix.

In a statement Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power’s president and chief executive officer said: “There is no question, the option for a new nuclear facility in Peace Country and in Alberta is a strong one and will be an important consideration moving forward.”

But he said that Bruce Power had "made a business decision to continue to put our full focus on the safe, reliable operations and ambitious investment programme on our Bruce site.” The company is currently refurbishing two CANDU reactors (Bruce A units 1 & 2) at the Bruce site in Ontario. Both units are due to return to service in 2012, the company said in a statement.

The recent announcement puts and end to Bruce Power’s nuclear new build plans. In 2009 the company scrapped plans to build new reactors in Ontario (Bruce County and Nanticoke) due to declining electricity demand in the province. The company had also proposed the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the mining province of Saskatchewan, but was not supported by the provincial government

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