By BILL GRAVELAND
2007-08-28 18:40:00

If all goes according to plan, Alberta's Peace River district will be home to the first nuclear plant built in Canada since 1993.

Energy Alberta Corporation announced Tuesday that after two years of planning, it has selected the site for its $6.2-billion, 2,200-megawatt Candu twin reactor - the first ever for Western Canada. Officials are optimistic that the plant could be operational within 10 years.

"There's no doubt that Alberta needs a large, reliable, clean power source to meet future needs, and there's no doubt in our minds that Albertans are ready for nuclear power," said Energy Alberta President Wayne Henuset.

The Peace River plant would be the first in Canada since Ontario Hydro built Darlington 4, east of Toronto, 15 years ago.

"We've looked at the alternatives, which is wind and solar right now, and for the amount of power that's required we would need somewhere over 6,000 windmills," Henuset added. "So we looked at the cleanest form. Nuclear comes with no CO2 and the efficiencies are the highest."

The plant could meet as much as 20 per cent of Alberta's current electricity needs. A "large portion" has been spoken for by an unidentified oil and gas company, said Henuset, while the remainder would be added to Alberta's electrical grid.

Ally Sutherland, spokeswoman for the company that manages the grid, says the province "definitely" needs the new power.

It has been more than 26 years since the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the main regulator in charge of granting approval for nuclear power plants, licensed a new plant in this country.

Aurele Gervais, speaking from Ottawa, said it takes about 10 years from the time an application is made until a plant goes into production. An environmental assessment must take place before the commission can even consider a licence application, he said.

Henuset said this application is the first of five licences that will be required from the commission before the plant can get a green light. "Best-case scenario? We should be up and operating in nine to 10 years," he said. "We expect this to be up and running by 2017."

Energy Alberta has obtained about 580 hectares of land near Lac Cardinal, about 30 kilometres west of the town of Peace River. The project would create about 900 permanent jobs and a significant tax base for municipalities in the area.

"Although a long process of due diligence lies ahead, our regional support remains solid, confirmed and unanimous," said Peace River Mayor Lorne Mann"Our area pulled together for this project like it rarely has before."

Still, the proposed plant is not without its detractors.

Leila Darwish of the Sierra Club calls the project an "unnecessary risk for Alberta."

"If you make one mistake, it has the potential to be a fatal mistake that not only affects those people living in the shadow of the plant, but has the potential to affect all of Alberta, if not larger," she said at the news conference where the plan was unveiled.

Jason Chance, a spokesman for Alberta Energy in Edmonton, said the province will be involved in any environmental assessment even though the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will likely act as the "one-window contact" for the project.

"The province is definitely going to be at the table throughout this process," said Chance. He said Alberta's concerns include water allocation, transmission lines, connecting to the power grid, any use of public lands and emergency preparedness and response.

A spokesman for Golder and Associates, an environmental engineering consulting group, says a geologist and professional engineers looked at the area and provided a score for the potential risks of seismic events in the Peace country. "There have been earthquakes in the area, but it was not what we could call a fatal flaw," said Stella Swanson.

Henuset acknowledges there are hurdles to be crossed, but he expects to get Alberta government approval.

"I think its a done deal because we've done a number of public opinion polls and the government listens to the public," said Henuset. "We did one almost two years ago when we first started it and we had a 76 per cent approval rating."

An official with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., isn't worried about getting the project completed.

"I think Canadians forget that this technology has been exported around the world. The last six projects we performed around the world - in China, Korea and Romania - we succeeded in getting in time and in budget," said Roland Boucher.

"We feel we can perform the same thing in Canada. There's no doubt."