Bill Boyd, Saskatchewan's minister of energy and resources, spoke to reporters at the legislature on Thursday. (CBC)

The Saskatchewan government has decided not to proceed with a nuclear power plant, at least for now.

Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd outlined the government's vision for adding value to uranium Thursday morning, capping months of public hearings and internal studies.

Boyd said the province wants to continue to do research in everything from mining to small-scale reactors but it doesn't see the potential for a large-scale reactor right now.

Such a facility would cost too much, Boyd said.

"I think we met with the same kind of general conclusion that was met with in Ontario that this would be a very expensive source," Boyd said.

It the latest twist in the province's ongoing flirtation with expanding its nuclear industry.

Saskatchewan gets much of its electricity from coal power, but some of the plants are being phased out.

World leader in uranium production

SaskPower, the province-owned power company, is looking for a clean source of new energy and some have suggested nuclear could be it.

Saskatchewan is a world leader in uranium production, but it doesn't refine the ore or have any commercial nuclear reactors or nuclear waste disposal sites.

Bruce Power has expressed interest in building a nuclear power plant in Saskatchewan and earlier this year, a government advisory group called the Uranium Development Partnership said nuclear power should be included in the province's future energy mix.

However, at public hearings later in the year, most people said they were opposed to a nuclear power plant.

Boyd said the government still believes there's a strong need for a nuclear industry in Saskatchewan that goes beyond digging it out of the ground.

He also said if communities are interested in storing nuclear waste, the government would be open to that.