Nuclear Power, a Clean, Sustainable, and Profitable Source of Energy for Saskatchewan

Nuclear Power, a Clean, Sustainable, and Profitable Source of Energy for Saskatchewan

ELA B30

March 28, 2012

For some time now there has been an argument as to whether Saskatchewan should or should not invest in a nuclear power program. Saskatchewan is a logical place to build a nuclear reactor because not only is Saskatchewan very rich in uranium, but also safe from most natural disasters. The establishment of nuclear power would increase our standard of living, and bring in more revenue to our province through the production of cheap electricity and more jobs. Finally nuclear power is a much cleaner and safer source of energy than the burning of fossil fuels which most of Saskatchewan currently relies on. Nuclear energy is an effective, sustainable, and clean source of energy that should be established in Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan is one of the most logical places to build a nuclear reactor for a variety of reasons. Up until 2009 Canada was the largest uranium producer in the world, producing approximately 22% of the words uranium, and is still second only to Kazakstan. A large amount of this uranium comes from Saskatchewan. The McArthur River Mine in North Saskatchewan is the largest uranium mine in the world, and in 2013 a new mine is scheduled to open in Cigar L:ake. Since so much uranium is found and processed here it is only logical for it to be converted to electricity here as well. Creating a reactor near a mine would lower not only the cost of transportation, but also reduce the greenhouse gasses produced by the transportation of the uranium to other locations. Finally a reactor in Saskatchewan is safe from natural disasters, which can lead to reactors melting down. Saskatchewan does not experience earthquakes of tsunamis like the one that occurred in March of 2011 that caused the reactor in Fukushima Japan to have problems.

The establishment of nuclear power in Saskatchewan would create many new jobs, and would bring in more money to our government, which would in turn benefit all of its residents. The increase in electricity production that would come with the creation of nuclear energy would give Saskatchewan the chance to sell electricity to other provinces. This would be a great long term source of revenue. Nuclear energy is the lowest costing production method of creating electricity. Although the creation of the reactors themselves is quite expensive there is very little upkeep needed. Because of this the average production cost for electricity is only 2.14 cents per kilowatt hour(currently over 6 cents using coal) which includes the cost of maintaining the plant, paying for uranium, and dealing with the waste safely. These low costs of production translate into savings on Saskatchewan residents electricity bills, which brings cost of living down, and in turn standard of living up.

In our society we are very concerned with taking care of the environment. Nuclear energy is a very clean and safe form of electricity production. It does not pollute the air with greenhouse gasses like the burning of fossil fuels does. If fact the only waste that a nuclear power plant produces are steam and nuclear