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“(Traditional plants) are too large for our system.”

However, SMRs with a generating capacity of between 300 and 400 MW — slightly smaller than SaskPower’s big coal- and natural gas-fired plants — would likely make sense in Saskatchewan, Eckel added.

In a 2008 feasibility study, Bruce Power Limited Partnership, which operates a nuclear plant northwest of Toronto, said Saskatchewan will likely require at least 1,000 MW of nuclear generation capacity by 2020.

A plant north of Saskatoon would likely cost between $8 and $10 billion, but contribute $240 million annually to the provincial economy and create 1,000 permanent jobs over its 60-year lifespan, the study said.

A 2014 study conducted at the University of Saskatchewan found that 50.3 per cent of Saskatchewan residents had a positive impression of nuclear power generation, while 22.9 per cent had a negative impression and 18.5 per cent reported no opinion on the subject.

Currently, about 25 per cent of the province’s power comes from clean sources. SaskPower said late last year that it plans to double that figure by 2030 using a mix of wind, solar and hydroelectric sources, while boosting its total capacity to about 7,000 MW.

“To build a nuclear plant would take likely a decade … That alone would push it more than a decade away (and) the technology for SaskPower isn’t in place yet,” Eckel said.

In its simplest form, a nuclear power plant works by using the nuclear reaction in its core to heat a closed loop of pressurized coolant. The coolant — usually water — produces steam, which drives a turbine that produces electricity.