Lake Diefenbaker region preferred site for nuclear plant: SaskPower report
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 | 11:51 AM CT
CBC News
SaskPower's preferred location for a nuclear power plant is near Lake Diefenbaker in central Saskatchewan, CBC News has learned.
The information is contained in a consultant's report prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd. for the Crown utility last year.
CBC News has obtained a copy of the report, which was written in February 2007. The report says a power plant at Elbow, near Lake Diefenbaker, would be preferable to other potential sites.
"Potentially, the Lake Diefenbaker region could be the site of a Candu 6 plant configured with two steam turbine generators instead of the standard 750-megawatt, single-steam turbine unit," the report said. "Plant output from this option would be split equally between Saskatchewan and Alberta."
The report cites the area's large water supply, which is needed for generating nuclear power.
It also mentions that the site would be near populated areas, reducing the need to transmit power over long distances.
More study needed, report says
However, the report also cautions that roughly 40 per cent of Saskatchewan people get their drinking water from the Lake Diefenbaker watershed.
The Lac La Loche area was also considered in the report, because it's near a potential oilsands development in northwestern Saskatchewan. The proposal was for a cogeneration plant that would produce electricity and steam, with the assumption that the electrical output would be half that of a CANDU 6.
The study looked at environmental and cost factors, cooling-water requirements, exclusion zones, seismology, transmission systems, weather and geotechnical conditions.
Ultimately, the Lac La Loche area was not seen as the best choice.
The report recommends a further, more detailed study on Lake Diefenbaker before any final decision is made on the location of a power plant. It doesn't make any recommendations about whether or not SaskPower should proceed with a nuclear plant.
The report was commissioned by the previous NDP administration.
Before he was elected premier, Brad Wall promised to make the report public, but the government has not yet done so.
On Wednesday, a government spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the report. However, the government had decided not to make it public, the spokesperson said.
