Alberta’s Pursuit of the “Nuclear Option”
After signaling their intention to do so back in August, the provincial government finally became a signatory to the small modular reactor (SMR) memorandum of understanding which includes Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick. The purpose of the agreement is to foster increased use of SMRs as a way to improve economic diversity while simultaneously reducing the local carbon footprint. Premier Jason Kenney shared his excitement about the opportunity that lies ahead, saying "small modular reactors are an exciting new technology that could be used in the future to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions, for example by generating power for Canadian oil sands producers.” In short, the possibilities that open with the increased use of SMRs in the province give us plenty of reasons to keep an ion this story (pun intended).
According to the Canadian Nuclear Association’s presentation to Alberta Innovates, SMRs are transportable reactors that use nuclear fission to produce energy up to 300 megawatts and can be stacked in smaller increments based on need. These small, yet powerful units bring a host of potential applications that can aide in efforts to reduce our carbon footprint while also being used as a tool in Alberta’s oil and gas industry. Fortunately for us, there are significant uranium deposits available in the Athabasca Basin which we share with our neighbours in Saskatchewan. That basin was rigorously explored through the 1970s and 1980s which found massive unconformity deposits which will be an asset in this venture.
While the high-level discussions of environmental impact and efficiency are obvious reasons for the province to go down this path, what specifically does Alberta have to gain from SMR technology? As far as emissions go, the oil sands in the province are the highest contributor to emissions across the country and a frequent target for decarbonization and emissions reduction. SMR technology provides opportunities for the oil and gas sector in the province to reduce the environmental impact in the sector, including in the extraction of bitumen. SMRs have the capabilities required to produce the energy, heat, and steam required for steam assisted gravity drainage, a key process in bitumen extraction. Current methods used to produce the steam can result in 110kg per barrel of carbon dioxide emissions. SMR usage in this area would significantly reduce this number as they do not produce carbon dioxide and also provide a more energy efficient mode of steam production required for extraction.
There is also an economic benefit to be had here for the province. As SMR technology can be applied to oil and gas operations more broadly than the bitumen example referenced earlier, there would be incentive for new investment in Alberta’s largest industry which has seen multiple investment funds withdraw from the sector in favour of more environmentally friendly portfolios.
While coal remains a sensitive and high-profile discussion point in Alberta, implementation of SMR technology in the province has significant potential to assist in the phase out of coal-fired electricity. In December, the UCP government announced that it was seven years ahead of its 2030 target date for eliminating coal power in the province (now set to come into effect in 2023). Plans are underway to convert power units to natural gas, but SMR remains another option available to assist in a smooth transition away from coal.
Like anything involving nuclear power, there are concerns which need to be addressed in advance of a mass rollout of SMRs in the province. Nuclear waste is an area of discussion which there seems to be highly polarizing discussions – namely, what to do with it. Some have proposed that the solution is to reuse and reprocess radioactive waste from SMRs; however, many others are raising red flags due to the high degree of danger involved. The result of reprocessing leads to liquid waste streams which are incredibly difficult to manage. Some have also raised security concerns about the idea as reprocessing nuclear waste is the same process used to develop materials for nuclear weapons. Of course, we do not expect Alberta to begin nuclear weapons proliferation market, but the concern is it could attract the wrong kind of people to the waste facilities.
While wide use of SMR technology in the province is still years away, it is an indication that this provincial government is looking beyond the next election for Alberta’s energy production needs. Providing improved efficiencies in the oil and gas sector with SMRs is a likely way for the UCP to incentivize new and increased investment in the oil and gas sector as it attempts to provide a kickstart to the industry. While the full potential of SMR technology has not yet been discovered, there is reason to pay attention to these new developments.
