A second nuclear power plant at Point Lepreau on the Bay of Fundy would be viable under certain conditions, a feasibility study released Monday says.

The New Brunswick government released the results of a government-commissioned study conducted independently by MZ Consulting Inc. in Saint John.

"A new nuclear reactor is viable under a certain set of conditions," Energy Minister Jack Keir said.

The proposed 1,100-megawatt reactor would be built next to the existing 630-megawatt reactor, which is Atlantic Canada's only nuclear power plant.

The MZ Consulting study looked at markets for electricity, business structures, economic viability of the project and the benefits for New Brunswick.

The study confirmed the availability of markets, the existence of a distribution system to transmit the power and indicated there is a viable business case to be made for the reactor, Keir said.

About half of the output from the proposed new reactor could be used by the three Maritime provinces to displace oil- and coal-burning plants, Keir said.

According to the study, there is a potential market in the Maritimes and the United States for the output that would come from the plant but the proposed LNG natural gas generation that is also being examined in the province would present competition for the nuclear reactor.

The final outcome of the project's viability would also be dependent on its construction costs and the price of electricity in the market, said the report.

The government also received a second feasibility study, completed by Team CANDU, a group of private nuclear companies that have been studying the market for electricity from the proposed $5-billion reactor.

Energy hub

The government will now be reviewing that study's findings as well, said Keir.

Establishing a second nuclear plant in the province has been cited as part of the Liberal government's hopes to turn New Brunswick into an energy hub for the region, which is central to the province's 2026 self-sufficiency plan.

The construction of a second nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau has the potential to create up to 4,000 jobs during construction and up to 500 permanent jobs at the facility, said Premier Shawn Graham.

In last Thursday's annual state of the province address, Graham said the findings of the feasibility studies into the reactor "exceeded expectations."

But nuclear opponents say the second reactor is only a pipe dream.

Project not realistic: critics

"The government is trying to construct a fairy tale to convince New Brunswickers this is a viable option, and clearly it is not," said David Coon of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

Coon pointed to the challenges that must be surmounted if the project is to be viable according to the MZ Consulting study.

The study indicates the reactor would require a large commitment from an export market to be able to succeed. But Coon said he doesn't believe customers in the northeastern United States are interested in the kind of long-term power-purchase deal that a nuclear developer would require.

The study also points out that the output from two nuclear reactors to an export market would require a new transmission system.

The proposed generator would also be the world's first Advanced Candu Reactor-1000 — a design that is still on the drawing board at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., the federal Crown corporation behind Candu reactors, which supply about 16 per cent of Canada's electricity.

The province could be taking a risk by pursuing a first-of-its-kind design, according to the study.

The government is so wedded to its dream of turning the province into an energy hub, it can't admit a second reactor is an unreasonable idea, Coon said.

"This would be a go if pigs could fly, but pigs can't fly, so it's not going to happen," Coon said.

Government may invest in reactor

The proposed plan is for the private sector to build the reactor, which would then be operated by Crown-owned utility NB Power.

It would be up to the New Brunswick government to decide how much investment, if any, it would be willing to make.

Keir declined to comment on the extent to which the government would be involved in building the proposed reactor, but he hinted the province may be interested in investing.

"If the business case looks like it's a no-brainer and it's a slam dunk, that there's going to be a rate of return there for private sector investment, why wouldn't the Province of New Brunswick want to get in on some of that rate of return?" Keir said.

With files from the Canadian Press