Global First Power (GFP) said this week it had submitted an application for a License to Prepare Site for a potential Micro Modular Reactor project slated for Chalk River Laboratories, a Canadian Nuclear Laboratories facility in Ontario.
The application is the first of its kind for Canada, where hopes are high that small modular reactors will be able to answer the call for carbon-emissions-free electricity viable for remote mining operations and isolated communities in the north. Many of these locations rely on diesel-powered generators for their electricity.
Global First Power submitted the application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission with its partners Ontario Power Generation and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation.
GFP was previously the only applicant that has cleared the second stage of the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Small Modular Reactor (SMR) siting invitation process, the company noted.
The technology under development is a 15 MW (thermal), 5 MW (electrical) high-temperature gas reactor, according to the World Nuclear Association.