Canadian utility SaskPower has identified two potential sites for Saskatchewan’s first small modular reactor (SMR). Both sites are in the Estevan area in the south-east of the province. The aim is to begin detailed site analysis for final site selection in 2025. A final decision on approving an SMR, however, is not expected before 2029. Officials have said early planning is required to ensure the province meets regulations. If it is approved, the SMR could be operational by 2035.
In 2022, SaskPower shortlisted two locations close to a suitable body of water with sufficient transmission and road infrastructure that could sustain a sizeable workforce. The Estevan study area includes Grant Devine Lake, Boundary Dam Reservoir and Rafferty Reservoir. Waste from operating the SMR would be stored on site. The other location was the Elbow area located next to Lake Diefenbaker.
Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskPower, said two sites identified for further study are the Boundary Dam Reservoir and the Rafferty Reservoir, both of which are located about 10 kilometres away from the city of Estevan, in southeastern Saskatchewan. Detailed assessments of both sites will now begin, including the collection of ground water and geotechnical. Saskpower said detailed land and water analyses will be undertaken to collect data to help identify a final site while protecting the natural environment by minimising impacts to sensitive lands and habitats.
Duncan said Elbow, northwest of Regina, was still under consideration but because Estevan has more existing power infrastructure the nearby reservoirs are better options. SaskPower will continue to seek land options in the region and work with Rightsholders, Indigenous and municipal leaders and community members.
“In addition to the technical suitability of the sites, the Estevan region offers many benefits, including proximity to the City of Estevan to access existing services, a skilled workforce, accommodations and emergency services, as well as infrastructure, roads and transmission,” SaskPower President and CEO Rupen Pandya said. “Selecting a site for the first SMR facility will allow us to proceed with the many regulatory processes which are site-specific and critical to the project moving forward.”
Estevan is home to two of SaskPower’s three coal-fired power plants, totalling over 800 MWe of capacity, but a federal ruling means all conventional coal units are to be phased out by 2030, by when they must either retire or convert to carbon capture and storage. Only one of SaskPower’s coal-fired units – 120 MWe unit at the three-unit Boundary Dam Power station – has been equipped with such technology.
Saskatchewan does not currently use nuclear power but SMR technology has been under consideration since the publication of a provincial roadmap in 2019. In June 2022, SaskPower selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment of the first unit by 2034, with another to potentially follow shortly after at the same facility. OPG had already selected the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 for their Darlington New Nuclear Project in Ontario with a target of completion by 2028.
“The Estevan region offers many benefits, including proximity to the City of Estevan to access existing services, a skilled workforce, accommodations and emergency services, as well as infrastructure, roads and transmission,” SaskPower President & CEO Rupen Pandya said in a press release.
Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig said people are happy about the prospect of a SMR being built near the city. He noted that there are many trained SaskPower employees already working in Estevan who will be able to work in construction and operation of the reactor.
