Featured image: Artist rendering of the Darlington New Nuclear site (Ontario Power Generation)
Two Canadian energy companies have made a commitment to examine Alberta’s nuclear outlook and the potential of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the province. On January 15th of this year, Capital Power Corporation and Ontario Power Generation announced an agreement to jointly assess the development and deployment of grid-scale SMRs in Alberta. Over the next two years, these two companies will complete assessments regarding the feasibility of this burgeoning new nuclear technology, while also moving forward towards the next steps of nuclear development in the province.
What is a small modular reactor (SMR)? How do they differ from regular nuclear reactors?
Small modular reactors are a type of emergent nuclear technology which aims to offer two distinct benefits over large conventional reactors – size and modularity.
These reactors are much smaller than traditional large convention reactors that can generate power in the gigawatts. Since they are much smaller, they can scale down or up to provide more flexibility in the type of electricity being added to the grid. Ideally, if these projects get up and running and start to become more common, then eventually the widescale production of the components should make building an SMR project much more cost effective.
Due to the size, SMRs are protected from one of the scariest spectres of nuclear energy – the meltdown. In case of an emergency affecting a small modular reactor, these reactors shut down, and then are supposed to just cool off. The fact that these units are much smaller and less powerful means passive cooling works, and these units do not need advanced meltdown protocol, even if something like a long-term loss of power happens to the plant.
The modularity of aspect is important, as the International Atomic Energy Agency notes: “Prefabricated units of SMRs can be manufactured and then shipped and installed on site, making them more affordable to build than large power reactors, which are often custom designed for a particular location, sometimes leading to construction delays.”
The IAEA continues:
“More than 80 commercial SMR designs being developed around the world target varied outputs and different applications, such as electricity, hybrid energy systems, heating, water desalinisation and steam for industrial applications. Though SMRs have lower upfront capital cost per unit, their economic competitiveness is still to be proven in practice once they are deployed.”
Nuclear Canada
Currently, Ontario Power Generation is in the process of building the Darlington New Nuclear project near Oshawa, Ontario. An addition to the pre-existing Darlington nuclear site, this project is set to add four new SMRs, coming online between 2028 and 2029.
This project is a Canadian first for small modular reactors. However, development for any nuclear project is a monumental process, and the new reactors at Darlington are set to be online only by the end of the decade.
Canada is not new to nuclear power generation, but the entirety of our nuclear fleet exists out east, with five out of six nuclear sites operating out of Ontario.
Ontario Power Generation has not yet publicly released an estimated capital cost for its Darlington SMRs, however, the Canada Infrastructure Bank committed just under $1 billion to the project.
While the costs might not be known publicly, Ontario Power Generation CEO, Ken Hartwick said to CBC that the outlook for small-scale nuclear projects that SMR technology allows should prove more affordable than conventional nuclear power plants, and be comparable to that of other sustainable power sources like wind, solar, batteries, or any combination of them.
The Strategic Plan
In 2021, Alberta joined a group of other provincial governments including Ontario, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick, that are working together to advance nuclear energy and SMR technology in the nation. The Memorandum of Understanding between these provinces lead to the development of a “Strategic Plan”, in response to the 2018 SMR roadmap for the development of SMR technology in Canada.
While the Darlington Project is leading the charge, the Strategic Plan includes the early stages of other SMR projects. The development of two SMR units is in progress in New Brunswick by ARC Clean Energy at the Point Lepreau nuclear site, while a micro-SMR project in Chalk River, Ontario, intends to replace the use of diesel in remote communities and mines.
The recent announcement with Capital Power and Ontario Power Generation is just the first of Alberta’s steps towards this SMR strategy.
Global SMR
SMRs are novel in Canada but have already been established in Russia and China, with projects underway globally. The following are SMR projects that have moved beyond licensing and towards construction.
- Since late 2019, Akademik Lomonosov has produced nuclear energy from the hull of a docked ship in Russia off the Siberian coast.
- The HTR-PM demonstration plant is a small nuclear reactor within the Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant, came online in late 2021, and began operating commercially in late 2023.
- Another SMR project as part of the Changjian Nuclear Power Plant in Changjiang Li Autonomous County within China’s Hainan province has been in development since 2021, with an estimated time of operation being 2026.
- Earlier in 2024, construction on Russia’s Brest-OD-300 project began in Siberia.
- The Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares (CAREM) site near Zárate, Argentina is set to provide between 100 and 120 mW by 2027.
- The SMART reactor design has been lessened in South Korea.
- Globally, SMR designs are awaiting licencing in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.
Global Progress of Small Modular Reactors
While the first two of these projects are online today, it is hard to gauge the financial viability of these projects, due to the politics of the locations.
The first of such projects, Akademik Lomonosov, was built by Rosatom, a Russian state-owned nuclear monopoly. In an analysis by Eurasian Ventures, the estimated cost of this project vary between $232 million to $740 million – a figure that “Russian elites” doubt the nuclear site will be able to recoup. But it’s not the goal for financial stability, as Akademik Lomonosov is simultaneously an investment into Russia’s north, providing large amounts of power where otherwise it would be difficult to, while also getting its foot in the door on prospective manufacturing of SMR or floating nuclear power plants (FNPP). Bragging rights about being the first might also be a factor.
China has proved to be another major player in the new nuclear landscape. China was the second nation with an SMR since the HTR-PM nuclear reactor began commercial operation at its Shidao Bay nuclear site in 2023. With the construction of the Linglong One unit in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, south China’s Hainan Province ahead of schedule, they will add the world’s first onshore commercial small modular reactor, and third SMR total, by 2026.
While these advances are remarkable, it is suspected that the cost of these Chinese projects has been quite large. Linglong One cost approximately 5 billion yuan, or 700 million USD, according to Chinese state media source Global Times. Other sources have placed the Chinese government’s investment into SMR projects (total) at 2.1 Billion USD. Whether these numbers are accurate, is unknown to us.
In North America, Darlington might prove to be the first SMR project to begin operation. SMR projects in the United States have not had an easy time. Oregon-based company, NuScale, was the first to receive regulatory licensing in the U.S. in 2020, with development toward a Utah nuclear site.
However, in November of 2023, the NuScale Power small modular reactor site was cancelled by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS). Dating back to 2015, the NuScale site was expected by many to be the first US based SMR project. However, ballooning costs of development and unreliable estimates of the cost of power once online led to UAMPS losing faith in the project and pulling the plug.
The Outlook of SMRs, today
While SMR technology is still being developed and the potential exists for it to revolutionize the nuclear industry someday, it is important to note that many of the claimed benefits have not been demonstrated by a SMR project yet.
Small Modular Reactors have been poised as a cheaper and faster way to provide electricity to a region, yet for consumers, the projected price of electricity from these sites has been higher than that of a large-scale nuclear plant so far, let alone much more expensive than forms of renewables like solar and wind.
Modularity and the ability to mass produce the components for these projects have been highlighted as a benefit, but since the tech is in its infancy, production for these types of units does not yet seem close for the commercial level.
As found in this 2014 study conducted between Aarhus University and Vermont Law School, nuclear projects tend to go over budget and beyond deadlines. Since the initial cost of investment can be so high to begin with, and often require more and more funds, new nuclear projects often need to price electricity at a point way above what carbon emitting or even renewable sources can utilize.
This phenomenon was described in Lazard’s 2023 Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis report, where nuclear was found to be one of the most expensive electricity sources in levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Considering the cost of small modular reactor projects so far, and the lesser output of electricity that these units provide, the LCOE of small modular reactors is going to be higher than other nuclear projects until costs prove to be lesser than large-scale nuclear projects.
When could this type of nuclear power start generating in Alberta?
Since these two companies are only investigating the potential of building SMR, it could be a long time before we see nuclear power in Alberta, with early estimates saying that the first nuclear-powered reactor could be online by 2035.
That is, of course, assuming everything goes to plan. Since Alberta is only in the earliest stages of developing a potential SMR fleet, it is impossible to say when SMR or any type of nuclear generation will begin in the province.
What this means for the Alberta electricity grid. How is it going to change?
If SMRs are found to be viable in Alberta, they could provide a strong, consistent source of sustainable baseload power. Since other sustainable forms of electricity, such as solar and wind, rely on uncontrollable factors, the combination of energy sources might prove an effective way for the province’s energy grid to become carbon neutral, or even phase out the use of carbon-emitting sources entirely in the province.
However, since OPG and CPC are only in the first stage of finding out the viability of this technology, it might be found that SMR is not viable, and we need to look elsewhere to replace our Natural Gas-powered plants in the province.
Would this affect energy rates in the province? If so, how?
It is way too early for us to make any predictions that will be accurate or useful by the time these projects go online, and that is IF Albertan modular reactors are found to be a feasible energy solution.
Adding up to the 300 mW of electricity that one SMR unit can usually provide to the province’s grid will always affect the supply of electricity. But that’s just one part of the larger equation regarding how energy is produced in the country.
Why start with an SMR in Alberta?
There are a number of reasons why Alberta might look to SMRs instead of conventional scale nuclear projects.
For starters, large scale projects are hugely expensive and take lots more time to build. Small modular reactors are not prone to meltdowns, and if Canada is able to become a major player in the SMR industry, that could mean a strong ability to begin production of these types of reactors.
In a quote given to CTV, clean energy expert Jacquie Hoornweg of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute stated part of the appeal of the SMRs is the scalability of these projects.
“There are a lot of places in Alberta for sure that may not be able to benefit from a traditional-scale reactor, but there are many regional centres as well as many off-grid or very specific-purpose uses where a small modular reactor could make a lot of sense,” she said.
If SMRs prove to be a worthwhile investment, it could mean provide a consistent source of sustainable energy for the province.
