Alberta nuclear plant one step closer

[Incognito]

March 13, 2008

Alberta nuclear plant one step closer

Bruce Power buys assets of Energy Alberta Corp.


By The Canadian Press

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PEACE RIVER, Alta. — An Ontario-based company that operates Canada’s first private nuclear electricity generating plant has announced it’s one step closer to building Western Canada’s first nuclear facility.
Bruce Power says in a news release it’s been successful in acquiring the assets of Energy Alberta Corp. and has filed an application with the Nuclear Safety Commission to build a power plant in northwestern Alberta.
The company says it’s considering construction of up to four reactors, which could produce 4,000 megawatts of electricity — enough power to supply roughly two million homes.
It says it’s been estimated that the province’s red-hot economy will create a demand for an additional 5,000 megawatts of supply by 2017, when the first unit of the project could be ready to come online.
Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive of Bruce Power, says while the approval process could take about three years, the company is ready to do technical studies and consultations with local residents and aboriginal communities.
Opponents of the project say nuclear power carries risks, and the company must clearly explain how it would dispose of tonnes of dangerous nuclear waste from the proposed Alberta power plant.
Bruce Power is owned by a group of partners, including TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP), Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO) and BPC Generation Infrastructure, a trust established by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
It supplies more than 20% of Ontario’s electricity.


CANOE -- Edmonton Sun: - Alberta nuclear plant one step closer