The governments of Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta have put forward a nuclear plan that they say will transition them toward cleaner energy.
The provinces’ energy ministers agreed today to a joint plan for small modular reactors, with the first 300-megawatt plant to be built in Darlington, Ont., by 2028.
Saskatchewan is to break ground on a site as early as the mid-2030s.
The plan aims to help meet domestic energy needs as province like Saskatchewan and Alberta transition away from coal, curb greenhouse gas emissions and make Canada a global leader in clean technologies.
Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have worked together to advance SMRs in Canada since 2019, with Alberta joining in April 2021.
Saskatchewan and Alberta, which continue to rely on fossil fuels like coal, do not currently use nuclear energy like Ontario and New Brunswick do.
The transition is part of the provinces’ goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
“There is great potential for SMRs to provide zero-emission energy for industrial operations in remote areas and to further reduce emissions from Alberta’s oilsands,” Alberta’s Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in a statement.
—The Canadian Press
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