Company begins process to build Alberta's 1st nuclear plant

The Alberta company that wants to build the province's first nuclear reactor has taken the first step in the long and complex licensing process.

Calgary-based Energy Alberta Corp. said late Monday it hadfiledan application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to build the proposed plantabout 30 kilometres fromPeace River in the province's north.

"This filing, the licence to prepare site, is the first of many steps in getting licences to build the plant," Wayne Henuset, president and co-chairman, said in a release Monday night.

"Building a nuclear power facility is a long and rigorous process. This is the beginning of a public and regulatory process that will include environmental, health and safety assessments. Public consultations will be an essential component of the process."

Assuming everything goes as planned, the plant will produce 2,200 megawatts of electricity when it opens in early 2017.

Henuset told CBC News a deal is already in place for the purchase of the majority of the electricity created by the reactor, but he won't revealthe customer, only saying none of the electricity produced will be exported to the United States.

The proposed site is on private landbeside Lac Cardinal, about 30 kilometreswest of Peace River. The community was chosen "because of the demonstrated support from the community, existence of essential infrastructure and support services, and technical feasibility," the company said.

The company proposal, budgeted at more than $6 billion, uses Atomic Energy of Canada Limited ACR-1000 Candu reactors.

The nuclear plantsrun by Ontario Power Generation, the leading nuclear power company in Canada,can produce6,606 megawatts of electricity.

Mixed reviews in Peace River

In Peace River, where there is some resistance to the plan, municipal leaders favour the project. The company was also looking at a site north of Whitecourt, but county leadersfirst want to hold a plebiscite on the plant.

"Our understanding isin our area the vast majority of people are infavour of this project," said Don Good, the deputy mayor of Peace River. "This is the beginning of a very long process that will have a lot of opportunities for public input."

Lois Knoblauk, a waitress in Peace River,said sheis fully behind the possible development because it will bring growth to the community.

"I serve the mayor and deputy mayor Don Good, and every timeI talk to them it's just thumbs-up good news. Everybody is for it," she said. "I'd be more worried about living next to a coal mine, which draws chemicals in the air, or a factory."

Brenda Brochu, president of the Peace River Environmental Society, saidresidents are luredby the possible economic impact.

"People are just generally looking at this as an economic development projectit could possibly have some long-term, stable jobs and that's a good thing butI think a lot of people aren't aware of how dangerous the products of nuclear fission are. There's a lot of education to be done."