The Globe and Mail reports that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) has signed an agreement with a newly formed Alberta company, Energy Alberta Corp to market Candu nuclear reactors to companies in the Alberta Oil Sands. The company hopes that the reactors could be used to produce the steam used in in-situ bitumen production. They believe a $3-billion reactor could provide the steam needed to support the production of 220,000 barrels of bitumen a day. Using nuclear power instead of natural gas to produce steam would help reduce the oil sands’ greenhouse gases emissions according to an AECL researcher (PDF).
In a more established market, Bruce Power, the operators of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station that supplies 20% of Ontario’s power has filed an application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to prepare a site for the potential construction of new reactors at its Bruce County facility. If approved such reactors could complement or replace existing aging reactors – five of which need to be refurbished or replaced between 2015 and 2020.