Economics, geography and SA国际影视传媒渦nknownSA国际影视传媒� regulatory complexities makes proliferation of small modular reactors (SMRs) very unlikely in the Northwest Territories says the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA).

According to John Stewart, CNA president, 10 years is the soonest any such device could be employed anywhere in Canada, more likely in places where the primary power source remains coal.

SA国际影视传媒淚f you owned plants like New Brunswick or Saskatchewan and are currently burning icky stuff into the air, what you really donSA国际影视传媒檛 want to do is complicate the project by having to change the transmission structure,SA国际影视传媒� Stewart told News/North. SA国际影视传媒淵ou want the new generators to go in exactly where those coal plants were.SA国际影视传媒� 

Outside of currently hydro-serviced regions North of 60, potential customers are diesel dependent communities and mines, but Peter Lang, president of Dunedin Energy Systems SA国际影视传媒� which has built a six megawatt, self-contained reactor SA国际影视传媒� said a smaller device can make the economic sense more elusive.

SA国际影视传媒淭echnically, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not terribly difficult to build a one megawatt reactor, but that will only generate so much of a revenue stream SA国际影视传媒� youSA国际影视传媒檝e got to staff it then decommission it after 20 or 30 years,SA国际影视传媒� said Lang. SA国际影视传媒淲hereas a 10 MegaWatt (MW) design is only incrementally more expensive, but offers ten times the revenue stream.SA国际影视传媒�

Dunedin Energy has built a six-MW, self-contained configuration that Lang said is best-suited for smaller, long-term demands of a mine or community beholden to diesel. Large mines like those at Lac de Gras burn more power in a year than all of Nunavut.

SA国际影视传媒淪o, a 10-MegaWatt reactor would fit nicely into a place like Iqaluit, economically and in terms of base load (electricity demand),SA国际影视传媒� said Lang adding that SA国际影视传媒渄istrict heating is something that could be introduced too.SA国际影视传媒�

Tuktoyaktuk mayor Merven Gruben said SA国际影视传媒渨eSA国际影视传媒檝e been throwing that around for years, but we usually get laughed out the door.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 the size of a trailer, these mini-reactors, and you can put it there for 20 years and makes so much sense to me,SA国际影视传媒� said Gruben. SA国际影视传媒淣owadays, itSA国际影视传媒檚 used all over the place so I would not be worried.SA国际影视传媒�

Attempts to tapping a new natural gas source for TuktoyaktukSA国际影视传媒檚 electric generator continue, said Gruben who called the $40 million granted to Inuvik for windmills SA国际影视传媒渞idiculous.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭hey should spend that money to help us build a natural gas connection,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭he status quo is trucking fuel up the highway and youSA国际影视传媒檒l burn a hell of a lot of diesel doing that than natural gas or nuclear. The whole thing is ridiculous.SA国际影视传媒�

According to Stewart, time frames for bringing SMR technology into the commercial realm tend to favour larger utilities that SA国际影视传媒渃an leverage capitalSA国际影视传媒� in a process still wrought with unknowns.

SA国际影视传媒淲e donSA国际影视传媒檛 really know that, because the regulatory model for SMRs hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been fully shaped yet and also because the regulatory regime SA国际影视传媒� Bill C-69 SA国际影视传媒� is currently being changed,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淒epending on how that applied to nuclear projects could really change the time frame.SA国际影视传媒�

Markets like Iqaluit might be problematic, smaller communities even more so, according to Stewart.

SA国际影视传媒淭he hardest market to serve is the small community, 1,000 or 2,000 citizens,SA国际影视传媒� said Stewart. SA国际影视传媒淭he complexity, the different encampments and associations, there are different local environmentalist constituencies ... youSA国际影视传媒檇 have to spend a lot of time.SA国际影视传媒�

Small reactors have been around for a while; about a half-dozen Canadian SLOWPOKE (safe low power critical experiment) reactors are used for research by places such as the University of Alberta and McMaster University. Built in the 70s by Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) these were roughly the size of a cinder block and just powerful enough to heat a bathtub full of water SA国际影视传媒� AECL tried to build more powerful versions in the 1980s, but these got little traction because natural gas was cheap.

While military submariner applications have been around for decades, mini-reactors for commercial electricity have not been employed in Canada. The biggest ones, of the 900 MW variety, are in use at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario.

A myriad of countries are now in the race to bring the first reactors online and CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 regulatory regime is anticipated to serve as a model for future SMR project approvals. Five years ago, AECL were offering sales pitches to municipal politicos at the Chalk River nuclear site just outside of Ottawa.

But the technology has improved since then SA国际影视传媒� relatively portable self-contained mini reactors or VSMRS and the SA国际影视传媒渟caled down versionsSA国际影视传媒� of the 900 MW variety at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario.

Scaled versions of the 50MW variety will likely replace the dirtiest emitters first, like coal SA国际影视传媒渋f youSA国际影视传媒檙e going to close them down,SA国际影视传媒� said Stewart.

Both Lang and Stewart noted the value of a willing mine partner whose adoption of SMR technology could serve a dual purpose as an education platform.

SA国际影视传媒淎 demonstration effect would be valuable and you might have it at a Northern mine site where you could bring people and show them that it works and itSA国际影视传媒檚 clean,SA国际影视传媒� said Stewart. SA国际影视传媒淭hey wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 see that blanket of particle emissions (as you would see) from the diesel.SA国际影视传媒�