What fossil fuel-rich Albertans know about nuclear power was likely learned from mean ol' Mr. Burns of The Simpsons fame. But if Canada's nuclear industry has any say in it, the province will get some firsthand experience with the radioactive stuff.
Nuclear energy producers are courting companies involved in the oilsands with the hope of supplying power to help free the gooey sludge from the ground.
Alberta has sufficient natural gas reserves to produce the steam and electricity needed in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations in the northeast part of the province. Coal, another abundant fuel, can also be used in the process.
But Murray Elston, president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association, says oilsands producers ought to consider atomic energy as a viable option for steam generation. Save the gas, he says, for selling to thirsty markets elsewhere in North America.
"Alberta should get the maximum benefit from the energy it produces," Elston told delegates at a Canadian Energy Research Institute electricity conference in Calgary last week. "It should benefit by getting best sales price possible for its natural gas, while at the same time producing low-cost steam free of CO2 emissions.”
Elston says he understands the resistance to anything other than native fuels and that people want to use every resource that they have at their disposal without going to something new.
"I just think we have the opportunity to make it a much more efficient conversion of the oilsands than using a scarcer supply of natural gas - and we can produce a lot of steam economically," Elston said.
A CERI study released in March put natural gas demand for extracting and processing raw bitumen in Alberta's oilsands at 3.7 billion cubic feet per day by 2017, representing nearly one-quarter of Western Canada's current gas production.
Elston purports that the nuclear option could curb that need. His evaluation is based in part on another CERI paper, completed for the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL), that compares the economics of a modified ACR-700 Advanced Candu Reactor with the economics of a natural gas-fired facility to supply steam to a hypothetical SAGD project located in northeast Alberta.
The study found that the reactor could easily compete with its gas-fired counterpart in a 100,000-barrel-per-day SAGD operation, producing steam for an average cost of $8.60 per tonne, compared with $9.40 per tonne for natural gas.
Jack Scott, marketing director for AECL, the Crown corporation that makes Candu reactors, says his company has been in discussions with oilsands producers about building a small reactor for their operations. He says nuclear power has piqued some interest.
"They're looking at a number of different options besides gas, such as nuclear, biomass, coal, etc. I think what they see in nuclear is a low-cost option and one that offers long-term price stability," Scott said, adding that the downside is higher upfront costs for building a reactor.
Andrew Johnson, vice-president of power marketing for Ontario-based Bruce Power, Canada's largest independent producer of nuclear energy, also expressed skepticism. It will be a cold day in the containment pool, he said, before the oilsands go nuke.
"The only basis in which you'd see it was if there were some overwhelming cost advantages, and it would still require the political support and investors willing to put up the money," he said. "I'm convinced (the nuclear industry) will see major opportunities in the east of Canada, but I think it's little more than a technical possibility here in Alberta.”
Johnson said he believes interest in nuclear power is experiencing a renaissance, not only in Central Canada but worldwide.
He said the cost benefits make nuclear energy appealing, if not in the oilbelt then certainly in Ontario, especially when stacked up against natural gas.
Currently there are around 430 commercial nuclear reactors operating around the world, with a total capacity of more than 364,000 megawatts, or 2,500 terawatt hours. A total of 30 reactors are under construction in 11 countries today, mostly in Asia and the Far East.
In the global context, coal, natural gas and crude oil still account for about 60 per cent of the fuel source for generating electricity, with coal still having the lion's share. Nuclear and hydro-electricity each represent about 18 per cent, while renewables make up just about two per cent of the mix.
Many people have strong feelings about nuclear plants sprouting around their backyards. But both Johnson and Elston downplayed concerns about safety and environmental issues.
Johnson said communities near Bruce Power's sites are "comfortable" with their nuclear neighbour, adding that "technologists and public perception have not yet come into alignment, because the technologists have a compelling case where the waste issue is eminently solvable, yet public perception is a long-term legacy issue.”
Elston, meanwhile, noted that much effort has gone into finding ways to dispose of atomic waste - including a 20-year study on deep disposal.
The federally appointed Nuclear Waste Management Organization is expected to recommend a waste disposal solution to the federal government by 2005, he added.
"In the early days . . . people thought (waste storage) was a set-it-and-forget-it operation," Elston said. "I don't think any of us wants to set and forget, because this is a technology we'll be able to monitor, be in touch with, and even at the appropriate time retrieve the used fuels and reprocess them for reuse.”
In any case, a solution must be found, Elston said, to feed a growing Canadian economy and meet the demand for energy consumption.
And given that Ontario has adopted a plan to eventually phase out coal-fired power plants, nuclear plants will play an important part in filling the electricity void.
"In Canada, electrical consumption continues to rise," he noted. "Conservation is a good thing, efficiency is a good thing, but growth of our economy means we have to ensure there is a good supply of electrons available, that we are competitive, and finally that those electrons are priced reasonably to ensure our export industry can continue to perform.”
(John Ludwick can be reached at ludwick@businessedge.ca)
