The prospect of a Canadian utility company siting a small nuclear reactor just a stone’s throw from the North Dakota border has come as a surprise to state officials and local landowners.
But the power such a project could bring may be welcome.
“It’s a very positive development,” said Jody Gunlock of the possibility that SaskPower will build a nuclear power plant across the border from Noonan, North Dakota, in Divide County in the state’s far northwest corner.
Gunlock, who ranches near the border and also serves as Divide County’s emergency manager, is eager to hear more, not just about SaskPower’s plans, but about the possibility of North Dakota planning its own small modular nuclear reactors.
Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, one of three commissioners serving on the North Dakota Public Service Commission, said North Dakota News Cooperative's query was the first she’d heard of the project. Gov. Doug Burgum’s office indicated that the Department of Commerce had communications with SaskPower and others regarding small modular reactors — or SMRs — at a recent energy conference in Atlanta.
Victor Schock, director of public utilities at the PSC, said he was prompted to research the project after the inquiry for this story and said SaskPower hadn’t reached out to state authorities about the plans.
“Not that they would necessarily need to since they’re really outside our jurisdiction, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent us from intervening in a proceeding they may have up there either,” Schock said. “If we’re concerned about safety on our side of the border, it would be potentially worthwhile to intervene and raise some concerns.”
SaskPower is narrowing down potential sites for a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor, with one possible location in the Estevan region and the other near Elbow, which is about an hour northwest of Regina.
Site selection should be finalized by the end of 2024, with licensing finished by 2029, Darcy Holderness of SaskPower said in an online presentation earlier this month.
Source: thedickinsonpress.com
Photo Credit: SaskPower
Categories: North Dakota, General