The prospect of bringing nuclear power to British Columbia has become an election issue.
The technology promises large volumes of stable electricity, but analysts say it comes at a much higher cost than the alternative.
But with BC Hydro predicting the province will need to boost generation by 15 per cent by the end of the decade, is the added cost a reasonable trade-off?
The BC Conservatives say it is a conversation the province needs to have, and have pledged legal changes to permit nuclear power if elected, with the goal of having a small modular reactor operating by 2035.
“What does it mean, how to we do it? How do we deal with this associated with the seismic issues we have in this province? Can this be done affordably, can it be done reliably, can it be done safely? We need to make sure we answer all these questions,” Conservative Leader John Rustad said.
“How are we going to be meeting that future need, what does it mean for ratepayers? And that’s the most important thing.”
Other provinces have embraced the idea of nuclear power.
Both Ontario and Saskatchewan are pursuing the possibility of small modular reactors. The power plants, which can produce about 300 megawatts, are cheaper to build and safer to run than traditional large nuclear reactors.
It’s an idea successive B.C. governments, including the NDP, have rejected as too costly, particularly given the province’s wealth of hydroelectric power. About 87 per cent of electricity in B.C. is currently generated by hydroelectricity.
BC NDP Leder David Eby said his government’s recent call for clean power netted proposals totalling 9,000 megawatts. For comparison, the $16 billion Site C dam, when fully activated, will produce 1,100 megawatts.
“We need a lot more clean electricity,” Eby said.
“We can sell as much as we can produce. What we don’t want to do is pursue the most expensive kind of power available, nuclear power.”
According to a recent report from the Pembina Institute, new nuclear power comes at a cost of about US$140 per megawatt, nearly three-times the cost of other carbon-free generation options like solar or wind.
The government of Ontario hasn’t revealed what it expects to pay for the four SMRs it wants to build, but in 2022 the Saskatchewan minister responsible suggested the price could be as high as $5 billion each.
Barry Penner, chair of the Energy Future Institute, said given B.C.’s growing demand for power, and concerns about how drought is affecting our hydroelectricity capacity, it is important to at least have the conversation about broadening our energy mix.
“Traditionally nuclear power has been very expensive to build. Once it is built, the operating cost — and this is always open to argument — can be quite reliable and steady and stable and it produces a lot of power,” he said.
Globally, Penner said nuclear power will likely need to be a part of the low-carbon future. But he said so far SMR technology remains essentially unproven in North America.
“You can’t really point to an operating one in the western hemisphere, but again there is the potential,” he said.
“What the actual cost will end up being, who knows.”
British Columbians vote in the provincial election on Oct. 19.