Small modular reactors won’t fill New Brunswick’s power needs by 2030: ARC CEO

New Brunswick has been looking to SMRs to replace power generated from fossil fuels, but critics have raised concerns over the viability and timelines of the technology.

The CEO of one of the two companies developing small modular nuclear technology in New Brunswick says the new reactors can be a key piece in decarbonizing the electricity grid, but admits the province will need more than just nuclear to fulfill it’s post 2030 power needs.

Bill Labbe, CEO of ARC Clean Energy kicked off two days of hearings on the development of small modular reactors, or SMRs, in the province at the legislature’s climate change committee. He says that the company is still on track to have its first reactor up and running at Point Lepreau in 2029, but that won’t provide enough power to replace the shutdown of the province’s coal generating station in 2030.

“There’s a significant shortfall in megawatts. You look at the retirement of units across the Atlantic provinces, that shortfall will require hundreds of units of new generation,” he told reporters after his presentation to the committee.

When the federal government’s mandated moratorium on coal power generation takes effect in 2030, the province will need an additional 450 MW of electricity capacity to replace the Belledune generating station.

ARC’s sodium-cooled SMR design will provide 100 MW of power once finished.

Right now the additional reactor at the existing Point Lepreau nuclear site is ARC’s only unit being planned to provide power to the grid. The company is also planning to build eight or nine reactors at the Port of Belledune for hydrogen production as part of a new “green energy hub.”

Opponents say the timelines and cost of SMRs are a key reason to steer clear of the technology. Susan O’Donnell spoke on behalf of the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development (CRED), citing research that questions the feasibility of the generation IV reactors being developed by ARC and Moltex, the other SMR company based in the province.

O’Donnell said the technology, even at the most optimistic estimates, won’t be ready to provide the amount of non-emitting power the province will need as it moves towards net-zero in 2050 and is a distraction from already existing renewable and storage technologies.