SaskPower: How small modular reactors fit in the mix

[Oscar]

SaskPower: How small modular reactors fit in the mix

[ https://www.newsoptimist.ca/news/saskpo ... 1.24303459 ]

April 5, 2021 - Brian Zinchuk , Local Journalism Initiative Reporter , Estevan Mercury / Battlefords News-Optimist

(PHOTO: This is a cutaway of a GE-Hitachi small modular reactor, one of three designs under consideration for Ontario and Saskatchewan. Graphic courtesy SaskPower)

When the Saskatchewan government was handed a defeat at the Supreme Court of Canada in its battle against a federal carbon tax, Premier Scott Moe spoke of the implementation of small modular reactors, or SMRs, taking the nuclear power route to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

On March 24, Darcy Holderness, project manager, asset management and planning with SaskPower, spoke to the Saskatchewan Suppliers Energy Update, hosted by the Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Suppliers Association Inc. (SIMSA). He spoke about how small modular reactors might fit into the Saskatchewan power mix.

Holderness said, “The major challenge for SaskPower and the province is transitioning from our reliance on fossil fuels, especially for our power system. We need to get away from high-emitting sources and make that transition in the most economically way possible. Federal and provincial regulations are coming into effect and are starting to impact bottom lines on how we operate our grid and our power system.”

More . . . .

[Oscar]

Out of sight, out of mind . . .

[ https://www.newsoptimist.ca/opinion/let ... 1.24308938 ] Battlefords News-Optimist APRIL 19, 2021

Dear Editor:

Re: SaskPower: How small modular reactors fit in the mix - April 2, 2021
[ https://www.newsoptimist.ca/news/saskpo ... 1.24303459 ]

Throughout this 1350-word article, SaskPower’s Darcy Holderness used the terms “small modular reactors” and “SMRs” more than a dozen times, but not once did he combine the terms into “small modular nuclear reactors” ... which is very unfortunate.

This simple omission is common among many proponents of this latest attempt by the nuclear industry to remain relevant and a money-maker, and does nothing to alert people to Premier Moe and the Sask Party’s plans to develop untested small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for this province.

Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are constructed in modules in a factory, hauled to remote settlements, dams or extraction sites under a tarp with a semi, assembled with enough fuel to generate between 50-300 MW of energy for some 20 years and produce radioactive waste which, along with the radioactive equipment, will then probably be abandoned where they sit.

All nuclear reactors - big or small - produce radioactive waste which can harm or kill life forms for hundreds of thousands of years and can never be “disposed of.” Further, there is no known location on this planet where this deadly material may be safely and sustainably stored. It can be buried underground to risk leakage into underground waterways or dumped into an ocean (eg. Fukushima) where it can be ingested by sea life but we can never be “rid of it” ... ever!

How dare we leave such an horrific mess for our grandchildren’s grandchildren.

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK