August 28, 2007

Energy Alberta Files Site Application for Oil Sands Nuclear Plant

Rendering of the heat transport system in the ACR-1000. Click to enlarge.

Energy Alberta Corporation (Energy Alberta) has filed an application for a site preparation license for two twin-unit ACR-1000 CANDU nuclear reactors to provide power for the oil sands operations in Alberta.

Energy Alberta, a privately held company incorporated in Calgary in October 2005, plans initially to build one twin-unit ACR-1000 that will ultimately produce a total net 2,200 MW of electricity with a targeted in-service date of early 2017.

The chosen site is on private land adjacent to Lac Cardinal, approximately
30 km west of the town of Peace River, Alberta. Energy Alberta said it chose the Peace River region as its preferred site “because of the demonstrated support from the community, existence of essential infrastructure and support services, and technical feasibility.”

The ACR-1000 is an evolutionary, Generation III+, 1,200 MWe class nuclear power plant built on Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.’s (AECL) CANDU nuclear technology. With a 60-year design life, the ACR-1000 reactor core consists of fuel and light-water coolant in pressure tubes with a heavy water moderator.

The ACR-1000 features low enriched fuel, higher steam pressure for increased
efficiency, a smaller reactor core with improved stability to enable higher output, and much larger thermal margins designed for end-of-life conditions.

The ACR-1000 incorporates 80% of the technical specification from the proven CANDU 6 design such as the modular, horizontal fuel channel core, low-temperature heavy-water moderator, waterfilled vault, two independent diverse shutdown systems, on-power fuelling and a reactor building accessible for on-power maintenance.

There are currently 10 CANDU 6 reactors in operation worldwide, with one more under construction. The CANDU 6 is a 700 MWe class nuclear power reactor.

The project to build the new Peace River reactors will be subject to review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Two oil sands developers—Husky Energy Inc. and Total—have also indicated possible interest in using nuclear power for their operations.