SaskPower has created a wholly owned subsidiary called ‘SaskNuclear’ as part of the federally regulated process that could result in a 2029 decision to proceed with building a nuclear power plant. The creation of SaskNuclear ticks an important box in the strict licensing checklist overseen by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
“So, 2029 is the decision date for moving forward with (a Small Modular Reactor, or SMR), but we’ve been consistent in talking about all the due diligence and work that we need to do as a company to get ready for 2029,” explained Rupen Pandya.
Pandya is the President and CEO of SaskPower. He is also the president and CEO of SaskNuclear, which for now functions as a kind of shell company for containing dedicated future developments in Saskatchewan’s path to nuclear power.
“Part of the work that will start in early ‘25 will be work that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, as the regulator of new nuclear in Canada, will oversee with regard to site investigations, et cetera. And so, the creation of the subsidiary was always part of our pathway with respect to a decision in 2029.”
Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan’s current Minister Responsible for SaskPower, said in a release that Canada’s nuclear industry is held to a very high standard.
“Establishing a subsidiary dedicated to nuclear power will help SaskPower meet Canada’s strict regulatory requirements,” Duncan stated.
Pandya noted that Canada is a Tier-1 nuclear country with more than 70 years of experience in the industry. The province of Saskatchewan is particularly well-placed for a more nuclear future: It has the world’s largest deposit of high-grade uranium, which is becoming more and more important as a resource, and already supplies more than 70 per cent of the world’s Cobalt-60 — an essential radioactive isotope used for medical technology and cancer treatments.
“The CNSC will want to know that we have a management system and a safety system, and it is impractical to extend the same management system we use for existing utilities,” Pandya explained. “They’ll want to know that there’s controlled procedures in place inside a corporate entity that would allow us to actually begin construction on a nuclear facility in 2029.”
Steps that SaskPower has taken to date include inking an agreement with GE Hitachi to select their GE Hitachi BWRX-300 SMR as the chosen potential design; establishing a working relationship with Ontario Power Generation and the Tennessee Valley Authority in the US (both utilities operate multiple long-term, large-scale reactors); an enormous 2023 public consultation process; and the selection of two potential sites near Estevan in southeast Sask.
The Hitachi BWRX-300 was chosen because, while it is comparatively a small reactor, it will generate about the same grid power as plants like the Great Plains Power Station currently nearing completion in Moose Jaw.
Pandya reiterated that the final decision cannot be made before the CNSC process is complete in 2029, and SaskPower will continue to investigate and develop multiple power generation pathways and carbon mitigation options. However, he pointed out that from a global point of view, nuclear power is simply essential — and Saskatchewan could be at the cutting edge.
“This is me making comment more generally, outside the Saskatchewan context, but there is a consensus that there is no pathway to NetZero without nuclear,” he said. “There is not sufficient non-nuclear baseload technology to allow the world to almost triple its power load by 2050 while achieving net zero emissions.”
“We need to start thinking now about workforce training as we move forward, and we’re already beginning that work with respect to our existing workforce, certainly, but also working with the post-secondary system to ensure there will be qualified nuclear workers going forward. And whether that’s for Saskatchewan or to support energy transition work globally, that’s going to be necessary. There’s already a shortage of those workers.”
SaskPower’s work is separate from that of the Saskatchewan Research Council, which has established international partnerships to develop the world’s first practical application of a nuclear micro-reactor.
Learn more Saskatchewan’s nuclear possibilities at saskpower.com/nuclear.