Bruce Power buying billboard space to gain support for nuclear energy on the Prairies
– By Jack Bryar –
According to a story by The Canadian Press, the recession appears to be having little impact on a multibillion-dollar bid by Ontario-based Bruce Power Ltd. to bring the first nuclear reactors to Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The company has started ramping up a public relations campaign in four Alberta cities as the government prepares to see how people feel. Billboards were recently unveiled in Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Peace River trumpeting Bruce Power Alberta as a green energy provider. "Exploring opportunities for growth in Alberta," some of the billboards read. The billboards also tout "Next-generation nuclear, hydrogen, wind, solar." However, Bruce Power has no wind, solar or hydrogen generation in Alberta at this time.
Albert Cooper, a senior executive with Bruce Power Alberta, says that the billboards are being used to help Albertans recognize the company.
"We wanted them to understand that we're looking at an energy hub that will include nuclear, and possibly hydrogen, wind and solar," says Cooper. "Bruce Power currently operates a wind farm in Ontario."
The company has been lobbying for months in northern Alberta communities, where it hopes to build at least two nuclear power plants if all political, environmental and financial hurdles can be cleared.
Bruce Power chief executive CEO Duncan Hawthorne says long-term atomic power projects may be able to sidestep the current global economic turmoil because they wouldn't actually be built for several years.
"The economic climate is a cause for concern for all of us," he said Hawthorne in an interview, "but it doesn't necessarily mean that those conditions will still be there when it comes time to make a big investment decision."
Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight says that nuclear energy is becoming a more attractive option for Alberta and other provinces that rely heavily on coal and natural gas to generate power.
"The nuclear renaissance is here," said the Energy Minister in an interview. "I'm not saying I'm for it or against it, but it's here and now is the time to be building massive power projects because labor and construction costs have fallen dramatically due to the recession compared to just a few months ago."
Knight also expressed optimism that nuclear projects will survive at a time when nervous lenders are becoming more wary of which projects to finance.
"These things require huge up-front capital," said Knight. "And any time you can pare away 10% or 15%mof that cost, on a long-term basis their power becomes that much more reasonable. They're probably not impaired by this capital crunch."
Still, nuclear power has yet to win policy approval from the Alberta government, a key requirement for any reactor project.
Bruce Power is also trying to foster support for nuclear power in Saskatchewan and Premier Brad Wall's government seems receptive. The province already has a feasibility study and public consultations are next.
Lyle Stewart, minister of enterprise and innovation, says that Saskatchewan has large deposits of uranium, so nuclear power is a good fit.
"I think we can pull it off if we have a willing builder and if the public endorses the idea," says Stewart, who adds that surplus power would probably be sold to the United States.
"There is such a demand for power in Western Canada and the western half of the United States," Stewart says. "I don't think we can produce too much power between our two provinces to saturate that demand."
There's enough power demand on the horizon to justify two reactors in each province, Hawthorne said.