Alan Findlay

December 21, 2006

 Natural Resources minister says Alberta oilsands will soon be nuclear-powered 

Nuclear power in the oilpatch is just a matter of time, according to Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn.

Speaking to Sun Media from Victoria yesterday, Lunn said he’s very keen to see a new partnership between Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and a private Alberta company to build a Candu-reactor to power oilsands extraction.

"It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when, in my mind," said Lunn. "I think nuclear can play a very significant role in the oilsands. I’m very, very keen."

Having toured nuclear plants like Bruce Power’s station on the shore of Lake Huron, Lunn said he believes nuclear power can help replace natural gas and other fossil fuels currently being burned to help extract bitumen from the oilsands.

"On this specific file, I’ve had discussions this week," said Lunn, declining to give more detail. "It’s absolutely emission free. It’s CO2 free."

Lunn’s comments come as AECL and Energy Alberta Corporation pitch oilsands companies on the merits of nuclear power as production rapidly expands.

The concept has generally been given a chilly reception within industry. Groups such as the Canadian Heavy Oil Association have been skeptical in part because of the scope and multibillion-dollar cost of a nuclear project.

But officials from both the AECL and Energy Alberta say interest is growing.

A public opinion survey commissioned last year suggested only 40% of Albertans favoured the notion of building nuclear power, but another 30% were neutral to the idea.

The suggestion that 70% of Albertans aren’t averse to nuclear power in their backyard has generated interest within industry.

"The interest level has peaked," said David McColl, in charge of business development for Energy Alberta.

One possibility being discussed is a nuclear plant that would heat steam for oil extraction and also power electricity generation, McColl said.

Energy Probe‘s Tom Adams said the lowering price of natural gas and innovative, non-nuclear projects in the works will take the shine off atomic projects in Wild Rose country.

"I think that the oilsands people are not nearly as desperate as they used to be," said Adams, who is an outspoken critic of nuclear power.

Sierra Club of Canada executive director Stephen Hazell criticized the AECL and Alberta Energy initiative for not being more active in ongoing provincial consultations on managing Alberta’s growing oil and gas sector.

In a departmental memo obtained by Sun Media through an Access to Information request, Lunn is advised to keep a low profile on the issue of nuclear energy in Alberta because of its sensitivity.

Lunn said he had never seen the memo.

"I get memos I don’t always agree with," he said.