Work on small modular reactors leads to the creation of SaskNuclear

While a final decision on nuclear power may be years away, SaskPower has created a new subsidiary company to work on the project: SaskNuclear.

On Wednesday, SaskPower announced the new company, saying SaskNuclear would be tasked with the small modular reactors (SMRs) project and would work on the business and regulatory problems.

“Canada’s nuclear industry is held to a very high standard, and establishing a subsidiary dedicated to nuclear power will help SaskPower meet Canada’s strict regulatory requirements,” said Minister Responsible for SaskPower Dustin Duncan in a news release.

SaskNuclear will share SaskPower’s president and CEO and board of directors.

SaskPower said Canada’s nuclear industry has particular standards and regulations that are different than SaskPower’s other generation sources, so it will need to build a nuclear information management system and establish a strong nuclear safety culture to become a licensed nuclear operator.

SaskPower has one other wholly owned subsidiary which deals with the buying and selling of power from other jurisdictions.

This is just one more step on the SMR path for Saskatchewan, though a final decision on whether Saskatchewan will employ nuclear power isn’t expected until 2029.

This summer, SaskPower chose the Estevan area for the potential first SMRs.

The province has also made decisions on what kind of equipment would be used and signed MOUs with other provinces, and companies.

Though Duncan maintains a final decision hasn’t been made, SaskPower’s new executive vice-president of nuclear development feels nuclear is the right option for the province.