By Katie Ryan
Lloydminster won't be home to a nuclear power plant it the near future.
Saskatchewan’s Energy and Resources Minister, Bill Boyd announced on Thursday that a reactor will not be built over the next decade anywhere in the province, but hasn’t ruled out nuclear power for the future.
Both Mayor Jeff Mulligan and Save Our Saskatchewan’s Daron Priest, agreed that the government’s announcement is good news.
However, while Priest would rather the door was closed on nuclear power for good Mulligan is pleased it will continue to remain open.
“I think it’s a good start but I would really like to see something more concrete. The last election, they campaigned on adding value to uranium and it snowballed into talking about building nuclear power plants,” said Priest. “With our water aquifer concerns, I’d really like to see something concrete put in place to say no to it, especially at this particular site they were talking about.”
In Mulligan’s mind, the provincial stance on nuclear power and official response to the findings of the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) is a responsible one.
“It satisfies the people who were wary of a nuclear reactor,” he said.
“They certainly aren’t closing their door on it, and any of the comments that the government is making about a nuclear reactor and nuclear power is positive. There is nothing in there that suggests that there are any public safety concerns, rather that it’s all about process costs, making sure that it’s the right approach.”
Research into the possibility of smaller nuclear reactors is still on the table according to Minister Boyd, and might be a better option for the province post-2020, although during UDP public consultations, Border City residents were quite vocal regarding their opposition to nuclear power in the area.
“Across the province it was 85 per cent against it, but Lloydminster alone was at 97 per cent. That sends a really strong message to what the people in our area are thinking,” said Priest.
While SOS met regularly and held public meetings, Priest said the organization’s campaign did have an impact, although did not see the desired outcome – a definitive “no” to nuclear power in Saskatchewan.
“We have really sent a strong message through this UDP process, especially in Lloydminster, and I think people need to listen to that,” said Priest.
“The politicians and Bruce Power both said that if they weren’t wanted in an area, a reactor wouldn’t be forced on people. And 97 per cent sends a pretty strong message. I would like to see something concrete, especially for this area, put in paper.”
Now that the province has said no to nuclear for now, Mulligan said Thursday’s announcement is just the start of a long conversation.
“There is going to be a time where alternative energy sources are not satisfied by some of the things proposed today and if we are ever going to substantively replace the energy sources we are using today, nuclear power will be a component of that,” he said.
“We all need to keep an open mind to the data, the scientific research, we all need to continue to press on and make sure that we do look at this as maybe a bi-provincial or tri-provincial initiative and we shouldn’t close the door on discussions with our friends at Bruce Power or anybody who is looking to find alternative energy sources that are going to take us into the future.”
As a proposed site with no reactor on its horizon, from a business standpoint Mulligan said Lloydminster losing out on a significant economic opportunity is an issue.
“That’s a concern for me anytime, how that will be read and how our city and area will be viewed by people who want to make large, capital investments in business commerce in our market area,” he said.
“However, I think that has to be balanced and in this case the government has probably taken the right approach.”