Could nuclear power solve the Yukon’s energy problem?

Officials from Ontario and the Yukon have signed an agreement that marks “the first step” toward deploying small modular reactors in the Yukon – technology they say could help solve the territory’s energy crisis. 

“We know our electricity grid is nearing capacity, and we’re expecting demand to increase,” Ted Laking, Yukon’s minister of energy. “So these needs are actually going to get more urgent for us. We need to start coming up with solutions.”

Small modular reactors are, as the name implies, smaller than a full-scale nuclear plant. They can be built in factories and transported to communities in need of energy. 

“They’re quicker to build. They are the size of a community centre. They do not take up large parcels of land,” said Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s energy minister. 

A small modular reactor (SMR) can generate up to 300 megawatts of power, which could double the Yukon’s current generating capacity. 

Lately, the territory has had to turn back to diesel generators to meet energy demand. Laking says nuclear could present an alternative – energy that works in the middle of December, but doesn’t create emissions. 

But there’s a catch: in Canada, the technology doesn’t exist yet. 

The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario is currently building and developing SMRs using a design from GEO Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a company based in North Carolina.

The estimated construction cost of the initial reactor is $7.7 billion, which includes $1.6 billion of infrastructure to create other reactors. Ontario is hoping to see it completed and connected to the grid by 2030. 

The project has so far received $2 billion from Ottawa and is on the federal major projects list. 

Stephen Veldhuis, a McMaster University mechanical engineering professor, said there’s a lot of momentum right now around nuclear energy. He’s one of four McMaster researchers awarded grant funding this month to lead studies on small modular reactors. 

“There’s a lot of technology already in place, and there’s really good people working on this,” said Veldhuis. “This is an area Canada can really contribute to globally.” 

Veldhuis’ research looks at how SMRs would work in extreme conditions – like the Far North. 

“It could be made in an environment where it’s 30 C and then it could be shipped to an environment that’s -40 C,” he said. “And so you’ve got to be able to account for that in your design.” 

This is not the first time the territory has considered small modular reactors, In 2023, the Yukon commissioned a feasibility study which found no major barriers to development. 

But not all researchers see things the same way. 

Daniel Fortier, a geology professor at the Université de Montréal, said between thawing permafrost and earthquakes, the Yukon is not likely to be a good fit for nuclear energy. 

With so much of the Yukon’s land mass in permafrost zones, he said small modular reactors that typically generate a lot of heat could risk thawing the ground and affect the facility’s foundation. 

Fortier said even if an SMR was installed on bedrock, the area would need to be rigorously assessed for cracks and weaknesses. 

“During seismic events, faults can reopen, they can be displaced longitudinally or they can widen,” he said. “And of course, for infrastructure such as a reactor… this is not good. We need very strong stability.” 

Veldhuis said those are the kinds of problems researchers are working on. 

“We have to be able to look at extreme events that are very unlikely to occur, but if they did, we have to be ready for it,” he said. “That’s part of what is involved with nuclear engineering.” 

Laking said the commitment will involve regular meetings with Ontario. This will help Yukon officials understand how to build a regulatory framework and help them answer questions about issues like the supply chain for uranium or waste management. 

“[Ontario has] a 50-year head start on the rest of the country,” he said. “And so with this new interesting technology around small modular reactors becoming apparent as part of the energy future of the country, we’d like to get ahead of it.”

Ontario has signed similar MOUs with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“Fundamentally, this is about collaboration on clean energy generation and sharing expertise on Ontario’s leadership building the first small modular reactor in the Western world,” said Lecce. 

The technology has been operational in Russia and China since 2020 and 2021, but Lecce said Canada is the first G7 country to begin construction. 

“It’s about building more here at home and I believe for the North, particularly the Yukon, there’s a desire for improved reliability,” he said. 

Yukon NDP Leader Kate White said any research on the feasibility of nuclear energy in the Yukon should also weigh public opinion.

“If you want to have social license to do it, you need to make sure you’re having those conversations,” she said.