ESTEVAN — Estevan is celebrating on Friday following the announcement that the city will be home to small modular reactors (SMRs), marking a significant step forward for Saskatchewan's energy future.
Estevan MLA Lori Carr and Mayor Roy Ludwig have both expressed their enthusiasm and optimism about the transformative potential of this development.
Carr highlighted Estevan's unique suitability for the SMR project.
"I'm really excited that Estevan is going to be chosen," Carr said. "If we get our first SMR in the area, it is the only logical place for it to go. We have the transmission lines, we have the workforce, a very talented workforce, that will easily be able to retool, going from one type of energy source to another. And I just think it's very exciting. It gives a bit more certainty as to the area of Estevan."
Carr emphasized the environmental benefits of SMRs, which are crucial in the broader context of reducing emissions.
"Emissions are a really big deal right across Canada and even within the province," she noted. "[With] big industry that's coming to Saskatchewan, one of the first questions that they will ask is where does your power come from? So, it is important to us to have a baseload that has very, very low emissions, and small modular reactors have virtually zero emissions."​
Echoing Carr's words, Ludwig described the announcement as "great for our community".
"We've been working on nuclear file for a number of years, we've worked very closely with SaskPower, with their hearings, with their meetings, with their education sessions. And we will be willing to help wherever we're needed to continue to work on this file, to bring SMRs to our community," he added.
Ludwig is particularly hopeful about the job creation and economic boost the SMRs will bring to Estevan, while also allowing for more sustainability for the community.
"We would like to – and from what we're hearing from our provincial leaders, hopefully, that will be the case – … have coal, we continue to run the mine, we continue to have the power plants running on off coal until we can transition to the nuclear," Ludwig said. "A lot of people are going to be employed in building the SMRs. And we're hoping that with the necessary training, and of course, we're getting involved with community college, we want the local training, we want our local people to have the opportunity for these SMR jobs."
The city and provincial leadership are already planning the next steps to ensure a smooth transition and to capitalize on this opportunity.
"There are two sites within the Estevan area that they're looking at – one on Rafferty Dam, and one at the Boundary area. More consultations will have to take place with people that live in the area, there would have to be land procurement, all those kinds of things that would have to take place," Carr explained​​.
Meanwhile, Ludwig pointed out that meetings are being scheduled to discuss further steps. He also noted that the city hopes Boundary Dam will be chosen as a site, as it will allow to keep the bass population and Boundary as a fishing and tourist destination.
Both Carr and Ludwig expressed their gratitude to the province and SaskPower for their roles in bringing this project to the next level, and are committed to ensuring its success for the benefit of the community and beyond.
