Tarsands To Go Nuclear

The Greening of Alberta's Tar Sands will result in a green glow of radiation.

So along with Greenhouse Gas emissions there will be more destruction of the Athabasca water basin when it is used to cool a nuke plant planned for the Tarsands.

Nuke plants require vast amounts of water as coolant, the result is hot water returned to mix with the original source water.

Henuset and Hank Swartout - founder and executive chairman of Precision Drilling Corporation - are co-directors of Energy Alberta Corporation. The new firm has an exclusivity agreement with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to develop nuclear power in Alberta. Later this year in early 2008, AECL and Energy Alberta hope to file an application with the Alberta Energy & Utilities Board for a permit to construct a 750 megawatt generating plant.

The partnership estimates that a two-reactor nuclear plant over its 50-year lifetime would be 15% less expensive than its natural gas equivalent (including capital and decommissioning expenses as well as operating costs). Crucially important in Henuset's view, the long-term price of uranium to fuel those reactors is more likely to remain stable than natural gas. "Nuclear power is a natural hedge against rising gas prices," he states. His firm's nuclear-versus-gas cost projection assumes an Alberta gas price of $7.04 per gigajoule in the year 2015, which the former oilman considers highly conservative.

Energy Alberta is well aware that its project faces high hurdles. Because these power stations are large, big sums of money must be raised. In fact, nuclear power ranks as the most capital-intensive form of electricity generation, although its operating costs are correspondingly low. Time is another factor. The period required to win regulatory approval and construct a nuclear facility is estimated to be 10 years. Further, there are rival forms of power generation, notably coke and coal gasification (see accompanying article).

Perhaps most formidable of all, North Americans have lived inside a "no-nuke" bubble for several decades; hostility toward the technology among many people is deeply emotional as well as intellectual. In response, Henuset points out that uranium-fueled power continues to develop rapidly elsewhere in the industrialized world.

And the folks behind the push to go nuclear are none other than the Alberta PC party. The same folks who brought you the unplanned, unorganized, rapid expansion of the Tarsands. And though they ousted Ralph Klein for his failure to plan for the boom, they have elected Steady Eddie Stelmach in his place who promises more of the same.

David McColl: Why An Energy Economist Helped Oust Ralph Klein

A fair amount of technical and economic analysis of these issues has already been done by the Alberta Energy Research Institute, the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy and other organizations. McColl himself has researched and co-authored studies on the oilsands development, nuclear options and related subjects for the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) and Energy Alberta Corporation.

What's still missing, the Calgary consultant maintains, is any meaningful political response. McColl, who holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo and a master's in economics from the University of Alberta, has been president of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives' youth wing for more than two years. From that post, he helped instigate the party leadership review which led to the ouster of Ralph Klein as the province's premier. "Many Albertans had a discouraging sense of public policy drift, even paralysis, at the Cabinet level," says the 26-year-old economist.

Also See:

Nuke The Tar Sands

Dion Pro Nuke

Cutting Your Nose

Energy

CANDU

Peak Oil

Tar Sands



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Alberta Tories Support Nuking the Tarsands

At least one Alberta Tory knows the difference between power and energy. Though apparently one delegate at this weekends PC Convention thinks the Liberals are still in power in Ottawa.

Nuclear power is for creating electrical energy, the use that is being looked at for the Tarsands is to produce steam for injection into the oilsands to release the bitumin, which is neither efficient nor cheap. Nuclear power to just produce steam is like hunting flies with a shotgun.

Also Saturday, delegates voted to explore using nuclear power plants to assist oilsands development.

Delegate Bill Dearborn of Medicine Hat said the oilsands need a nuclear option as a bulwark against any future federal raids on Alberta's resource-based economy.

"We're familiar with these Liberal governments in Ottawa that have imposed unfair taxes on the oil and gas industry in the past,'' he said.

But delegate Don Dabbs said he has participated in a past provincial study on nuclear power and that it's not the way to go to generate steam power for the oilsands.

"A reactor to generate steam is not the principal purpose of a nuclear reactor. It's for electrical energy.

"It's a very expensive source of steam.''

Thomas Savery (1650-1715)
Thomas Savery was an English military engineer and inventor who in 1698, patented the first crude steam engine, based on Denis Papin's Digester or pressure cooker of 1679.

Thomas Savery had been working on solving the problem of pumping water out of coal mines, his machine consisted of a closed vessel filled with water into which steam under pressure was introduced. This forced the water upwards and out of the mine shaft. Then a cold water sprinkler was used to condense the steam. This created a vacuum which sucked more water out of the mine shaft through a bottom valve.

Boilers

The high-pressure steam for a steam engine comes from a boiler. The boiler's job is to apply heat to water to create steam. There are two approaches: fire tube and water tube.

A fire-tube boiler was more common in the 1800s. It consists of a tank of water perforated with pipes. The hot gases from a coal or wood fire run through the pipes to heat the water in the tank, as shown here:

In a fire-tube boiler, the entire tank is under pressure, so if the tank bursts it creates a major explosion.

More common today are water-tube boilers, in which water runs through a rack of tubes that are positioned in the hot gases from the fire. The following simplified diagram shows you a typical layout for a water-tube boiler:

In a real boiler, things would be much more complicated because the goal of the boiler is to extract every possible bit of heat from the burning fuel to improve efficiency.

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR or CANDU).

The CANDU reactor design has been developed since the 1950s in Canada. It uses natural uranium (0.7% U-235) oxide as fuel, hence needs a more efficient moderator, in this case heavy water (D₂O).**

** with the CANDU system, the moderator is enriched (ie water) rather than the fuel, - a cost trade-off.

The moderator is in a large tank called a calandria, penetrated by several hundred horizontal pressure tubes which form channels for the fuel, cooled by a flow of heavy water under high pressure in the primary cooling circuit, reaching 290ƒC. As in the PWR, the primary coolant generates steam in a secondary circuit to drive the turbines. The pressure tube design means that the reactor can be refuelled progressively without shutting down, by isolating individual pressure tubes from the cooling circuit.

A CANDU fuel assembly consists of a bundle of 37 half metre long fuel rods (ceramic fuel pellets in zircaloy tubes) plus a support structure, with 12 bundles lying end to end in a fuel channel. Control rods penetrate the calandria vertically, and a secondary shutdown system involves adding gadolinium to the moderator. The heavy water moderator circulating through the body of the calandria vessel also yields some heat (though this circuit is not shown on the diagram above).

Steam generator (nuclear power)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an article about nuclear power plant equipment. For other uses, see steam generator.

Steam generators are heat exchanger used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. They are used in pressurized water reactors between the primary and secondary coolant loops.

In commercial power plants steam generators can measure up to 70 feet in height and weigh as much as 800 tons. Each steam generator can contain anywhere from 3,000 to 16,000 tubes, each about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The coolant is pumped, at high pressure to prevent boiling, from the reactor coolant pump, through the nuclear reactor core, and through the tube side of the steam generators before returning to the pump. This is referred to as the primary loop. That water flowing through the steam generator boils water on the shell side to produce steam in the secondary loop that is delivered to the turbines to make electricity. The steam is subsequently condensed via cooled water from the tertiary loop and returned to the steam generator to be heated once again. The tertiary cooling water may be recirculated to cooling towers where it sheds waste heat before returning to condense more steam. Once through tertiary cooling may otherwise be provided by a river, lake, ocean. This primary, secondary, tertiary cooling scheme is the most common way to extract usable energy from a controlled nuclear reaction.

These loops also have an important safety role because they constitute one of the primary barriers between the radioactive and non-radioactive sides of the plant as the primary coolant becomes radioactive from its exposure to the core. For this reason, the integrity of the tubing is essential in minimizing the leakage of water between the two sides of the plant. There is the potential that if a tube bursts while a plant is operating; contaminated steam could escape directly to the secondary cooling loop. Thus during scheduled maintenance outages or shutdowns, some or all of the steam generator tubes are inspected by eddy-current testing.

In other types of reactors, such as the pressurised heavy water reactors of the CANDU design, the primary fluid is heavy water. Liquid metal cooled reactors such as the in Russian BN-600 reactor also use heat exchangers between primary metal coolant and at the secondary water coolant.

Boiling water reactors do not use steam generators, as steam is produced in the pressure vessel.

See:

Sustainable Capitalism

Tarsands To Go Nuclear

Nuke The Tar Sands

Dion Pro Nuke

Cutting Your Nose

Energy

CANDU

Peak Oil

Tar Sands


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Shower With A Friend

That is Alberta Preimer "Fast" Eddie Stelmach's suggestion to Albertans. Big Oil is not responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, no siree, its you and me he says.

Stelmach promised that his government will set mandatory emissions intensity targets this spring, but he suggested individual Albertans can help by conserving electricity and hot water.

And of course following that logic we all use much more water than the TarSands do, NOT, so we should all shower with a friend to help save Alberta's water. Can you spell goof; EDDIE.

The premier said it's wrong to place all the blame for greenhouse gases on the energy sector.

"The energy sector is number 1 (in emissions), but of course every time you put on your lights in the house or turn on your TV, you're using electrical energy," said Stelmach.

"So it's going to require all Albertans working toward one common goal."

In dry Alberta, conflict over water has been going on for years, fuelled by an industry that, it's estimated, requires between two and 4.5 barrels of H2O to produce a single barrel of crude. Moreover, while Canada boasts 20% of the world's freshwater, Alberta gets by with only 2.2%.

As I said here before when Conservatives accept the need to do something about Global Warming they will say it is an individual problem, not a problem of capitalism.

The reason for the outburst is Fast Eddie is all upset over comments made by the Liberals but was deafeningly silent over threats from his pals in the New Conservative Government of Canada to introduce a new NEP.

And Eddie claims voluntary caps are working!! Funny that's not what Harper and Baird say.

But Mr. Baird did say something of great note, something that those in the business community, especially oil and gas, have been lobbying successfully against for 15 years. Said Mr. Baird: "Voluntary compliance is not enough. We actually have to regulate. Those regulations have to be enforceable." And, he said, these regulations will be tougher than anything the Liberals ever proposed.

Someone should get the Federal and Provincial Tories on the same messaging page.

Oh wait they are, the Feds want to cap "emmision intensities", which will NOT result in a decrease in Greenhouse gases as Alberta has already shown.

And Fast Eddie needs his newly appointed Tory Media hacks to properly brief him, they are no longer working for the Sun.....

Stelmach also threw out some figures Monday suggesting Alberta has taken a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Alberta is the only province on record that has actually reduced CO2 emissions by 16 per cent," he said.

But the premier later conceded he was talking about so-called emissions intensity, which is a measurement against the growth in industrial production rather than a total measurement of what's coming out of the smoke stack. If a company increases emissions at a slower rate than it increases production, then emissions intensity is reduced even though absolute emissions have increased.

An Alberta Environment official later confirmed that total emissions have increased by 40 per cent since 1990, but emissions intensity is down by 16 per cent over the same period.

Ouch!!!

See

Stelmach

NEP

TarSands

Alberta

Environment



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Who Said It First

The echo chamber of the Blogging Tories, the National Post and the New Canadian Government, having all the Alberta MP's , have now gotten through to their pals in the Media Room of Premier Ed Stelmachs office. Which prompted his latest Klein like outburst.

But before Mark Holland of the Liberals said anything about the need to slow down tarsands development this guy said it first, and not a peep, nary a word, not a comment from the BT's or the Harpocrites, heck not a word from Fast Eddie either.......


Former premier, Peter Lougheed criticizes oil sands development

CALGARY, Jan. 24 /CNW/ -The next episode of Energy-TV includes a candid
interview with former premier, Peter Lougheed following his keynote address at
the Oil Sands Supply & Infrastructure conference in Calgary. Lougheed
delivered a speech that was critical of both the petroleum industry and the
provincial government's management of oil sands development.
In an exclusive Energy-TV interview, Lougheed bluntly discusses his
concerns about the rapid oil sands development including a call for a review
of the capital expenditure aspect of oil sands projects and how the rising
cost overruns are impacting the royalties collected from oil sands reserves.
He also examines alternatives for cleaner oil sands development, such as not
using natural gas for bitumen production, alternative energy sources and his
views on fresh water use.

Former premier says bitumen should stay in Alberta

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Lougheed told delegates at an energy conference in Calgary on Tuesday that the provincial government should firmly link the licensing of new projects to the processing of bitumen at home.

"I just find it completely unacceptable that our resource involves shipping jobs down the pipeline with bitumen to the United States."

Lougheed, the keynote speaker at the two-day Oilsands Supply and Infrastructure conference at the Hyatt Regency, said shipping bitumen south is a temporary solution in an overheating economy, but it shouldn't be part of the long-term plan.

Note the dates, and this is not the first time Lougheed has said this......

See

Stelmach

NEP

TarSands

Alberta

Environment



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Tories Crush Whistleblower

The Conservative Government in Ottawa likes to regale us with tales of how much they are doing for Aboriginal people in Canada. They tell us that accountability and health care are their big priorities.

In fact they have colluded with Big Oil and the Alberta Government to attack a Whistle blowing doctor.

A doctor who works in one of Canada's poorest first nations regions, on the edge of the Tarsands.

The unplanned, unorganized, rapid expansion the Tarsands, is an ecological threat to the North, to Saskatchewan and to the whole of Canada.

So much for the Conservatives concern for health, first nations, the environment, and protecting whistle blowers. Thats four out of their six priorities.

Health Canada officials have filed a complaint against Dr. John O'Connor.

O'Connor alerted the media last year to what he believed was a disproportionately high incidence of colon, liver, blood and bile-duct cancers in patients who live in Fort Chipewyan, a small community downstream from major petroleum refineries.

In filing the complaint against O'Connor with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Health Canada did not explain the action, but said the doctor was causing undue alarm.

Meanwhile, physicians who work alongside O'Connor in Fort Chipewyan believe officials are targeting their colleague because his comments potentially threaten billions of dollars of investment in the province's oilsands.

Dr. Michel Sauvé, who heads the intensive care unit in Fort McMurray where O'Connor is based — he flies in to Fort Chipewyan on Tuesdays and Wednesdays — said doctors who identify potential public health problems should be protected rather than punished.

"Obviously, we need some whistleblower protection, some laws that will banish these kinds of repressive censorship. Punishing and trying to single out a physician to shut him up is not in the public interest," he said.

See:

Aboriginal

Oilsands


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Albertans Want Oil Sands Moratorium

It's not just folks out east who want a moratorium on oil sands development, Albertans do to. Jack was right.

While 56 per cent of respondents are worried about the impact of oilsands development on the environment, more than seven in 10 said they're worried about the health impacts.

A slim majority of Albertans (51 per cent) don't want the federal government to intervene to protect the environment affected by the oilsands, fitting with many Albertans' long-standing dislike of having outsiders interfere with what is seen as a domestic affair. But 42 per cent want Ottawa to become involved.

A sizable majority of Albertans (63 per cent) do not agree the Alberta government is adequately protecting the air, land and water affected by oilsands developments. Only 29 per cent of Albertans say they think the government is doing a good enough job.

One in five say the provincial government is doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while nearly six in 10 say they are not. Twenty per cent of respondents say they don't know. The federal government receives a similarly poor review.

Seven in 10 young people between the ages of 18 and 34 say the province and Ottawa are not doing enough.

The poll found 88 per cent of respondents think the oilsands are important to Alberta's economic development.

And we are still waiting to get our fair share of royalties to pay for all the environmental and health impacts of the tarsands.



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Capitalism Caps Tarsands Expansion

No need for the Blogging Tories, Harpocrites or Fast Eddie Stelmach to get all in huff over the need to cap or reduce the rapid expansion of the tar sands.

Capitalism will take care of that.....for a while... until oil prices go up again....

Low bids stymie Petrocan oil sands auction

But with the price of oil down more than 20 per cent from a peak in 2006, passion for the oil sands has lessened, in part because of the high cost of developing projects in northeastern Alberta.

Interest in the oil sands can vary from week to week. On Jan. 10, the Alberta government said exploration rights for about 200,000 hectares of oil sands territory generated $134-million. Two weeks later, oil sands rights raised only $500,000 for less than 6,000 hectares. Another sale will be announced Wednesday, which is expected to attract more interest, as are more sales in March.

Another Fire Sale of Alberta's resources, with a 25 year exemption on Royalties!!!

Lougheed was right we need a plan for expansion of the oil sands, but that is not likely to happen as this is the same government that sold off its assets like liquor stores, highway construction, etc. at fire sale prices.

See

Stelmach

NEP

TarSands

Alberta

Environment



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Caanda's Economic Engine Runs Out Of Oil

The overheated Alberta economy has screeched to a halt. And it does not look like the 'engine of Canada's economy' will be saving the country from recession anytime soon. So while manufacturing declines in Ontario, especially auto manufacturing, the result will mean even further decline in the need for gas and oil.
Opp's didn't plan for that did we. Of course not Alberta politicians provincially and federally oppose any concept of 'economic planning'.
And its not like we haven't been through all this before! Alberta Oil Jobs Evaporating
Despite the provincial governments head in the sand approach to oil development Albertans are speaking out, even as the oil economy bottoms out. Petro-Canada's planned pipeline bad for Alberta
And once again Alberta comes calling to Ottawa to bail it out!!! And of course the Alberta based Harpocrites are only to willing to oblige. But don't worry this is typical Conservative hype, they are simpy reannouncing previous commitments to capital investment.

Crisis forces Alberta to consider red ink
Opposition parties have been warning for years that the Tory government's spending was out of control, and that it was not doing enough to save the eye-popping surpluses it was reaping from soaring oil and natural-gas royalties. This year's surplus is expected to be $2-billion, down from the record of $8.6-billion in 2005-06.In 2007, the finance minister of the day, Lyle Oberg, speculated a deficit was possible if the province could not rein in its runaway spending. Since 2005-06, total government spending has jumped at least 32 per cent and per capita spending has been higher than that of any other provincial government.

Energy prices blamed as Alberta faces first deficit in 15 years

Alberta's decelerating energy sector can no longer be relied on to be the sole engine driving the province's economy, says a report issued yesterday by the Royal Bank of Canada. "While our new forecast for the provincial economy still reflects some degree of vigour, it does show a fair amount of steam seeping out of Alberta's engine," said Provincial Outlook, penned by economists Robert Hogue and Paul Ferley. The most visible example of the fading vigour is the delay or outright cancellation of several upgrader projects worth approximately $45 billion, as well as plans to scale back drilling because of low natural gas prices, the reports says. RBC has revised its GDP forecast to 2.1% for next year, down from a previous estimate of 3%.

Alberta inflation takes breather at 2.1 per cent
ATB Financial senior economist Todd Hirsch attributed the price jump in fruits and veggies in part to a weaker Canadian dollar."Alberta's inflation figures are being swept lower by falling commodity prices, especially crude oil and gasoline, but also by softer consumer demand," he said. Still, Canada's inflation was two per cent in November, the first time in two months that Alberta's inflation edged higher than the nation's.

Nearly across the board, oil companies have begun cutting spending. A survey by Barclays Capital found 2009 capital budgets were 12% lower than 2008 spending plans, and some believe they might head lower. Budgets in the U.S. and Canada are being cut the most, as projects in the high-cost oil-sands and unconventional natural-gas fields now make less economic sense. Companies such as Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips have delayed announcing budgets to spend more time assessing the market.

Alberta projects get$1B boost
PM commits gas tax funds to rebuilding infrastructure
A day after announcing it would sink deep into the red, the Harper government waved around a lot of green Friday in Conservative Alberta.On the heels of declaring it would run deficits totalling tens of billions of dollars over the next few years, Ottawa announced about $1 billion worth of previously committed infrastructure funding for projects in Wild Rose Country.The capital dollars come from earlier federal funding pledges, including $100 million to twin the Trans-Canada Highway near Lake Louise--with construction officially commencing today --and a promise by the Harper government to permanently allocate gas tax dollars to infrastructure.

Ottawa to give Alberta nearly $800-million
Calgary -- In a bid to keep Albertans working and help municipalities keep up with growing infrastructure demands, Ottawa announced yesterday it will pump more than $798-million into the province between 2010 and 2014.The extension to the federal gas-tax funding agreement could see cash earmarked for projects involving public transit, roads, water and waste disposal. Federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said the money will provide a "strong stimulus for the economy."

SEE:
Alberta Loses Billions
Recession Hits Alberta
Capitalism Caps Tarsands Expansion


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A Little Golf A Little Hustle

Alberta suddenly has become a destination of preference for U.S. Ambassador Dave Wilkins.Though his presence in the province has been downplayed despite his visiting the largest American city north of the 49th Parallel.

There are 75,000 Americans who call Calgary home -- more than any other city in the nation.

U.S. Consul General for the region Tom Huffaker says Calgary may indeed have a higher number of American ex-pats than any other city on the planet.

And this Saturday, Huffaker is calling all to share some food and good times to celebrate the great relationship that exists between Canada and the U.S.

The Can-Am Celebration, formerly known as the American Picnic, will take place at Heritage Park starting at 10:30 a.m.

Dignitaries at the Calgary Economic Development-sponsored function include Huffaker and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins.

Last weekend he shot a little golf and shot the shit with Prince Ed over the royalty review.

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins reportedly button-holed Stelmach last weekend in Banff about the key Hunter recommendation not to "grandfather" out any oilsands plants "on the grounds of fair treatment for all participants."

In October he will return to address that august body the Whitecourt Chamber of Commerce. Whitecourt is softwood lumber country, and it just so happens Alberta is named in the U.S. softwood suit.

Whitecourt is the site of three mills:

• Blueridge Ranger Lumber Sawmill (owned by West Fraser)
• Millar Western Sawmill / Pulp Mill (owned by Millar Western Forest Products)
• Alberta Newsprint Company Pulp & Paper Mill.

• 
  

It is also being courted as a site for a nuclear power plant by a Franco Canadian company. One in competition with Canadian Candu and American G.E. reactors.

Furthermore, Areva is talking to the federal government about forming a partnership with AECL. (Ottawa is also in discussions with Areva's American competitor, General Electric.)

So why is he visiting? Talk a little softwood, a little G.E.?

Nuclear Power Discussion is Back ( 9/26/2007 )

Nuclear power is back in the spotlight in Whitecourt. Areva Canada President, Armand Laferrere, attended town council last night, to give a presentation on his company in relation to nuclear power. Laferrere says Whitecourt would be the perfect site for his companies next project. He also said he was encouraged by the reaction from council members. Areva is the world's leading nuclear power plant provider, and currently has 98 plants worldwide.

Areva Canada does not build nuclear reactors, that is done by its parent company in France. In Canada Areva is involved solely in uranium mining in Saskatchewan. Given the fact that Whitecourt's sits right on the Athabasca river, this is an advantage for the companies expansion in competition with Energy Alberta who plans a nuke plant in neighbouring Peace River.

It's late afternoon in Saskatoon and Armand Laferrere's flight back home to Toronto doesn't leave for a couple of hours yet.

The president of Areva Canada Inc. doesn't seem to mind the wait. The day is typically busy for the smartly dressed Frenchman -- leaving Toronto in the early hours of the day for a morning business meeting in Alberta, and then hopping on another plane to give an afternoon presentation to the Canadian Nuclear Workers Council in Saskatoon before heading home.

Laferrere is talking about excited American customers who have already purchased equipment to compliment Areva's newest reactor, the EPR, although it's still in the licensing process. The model is being built in Finland and France, he explained, and is a third-generation plant that has buyers eagerly awaiting the day they can purchase the technology. The EPR, perhaps, is the model he would like to see in Western Canada.

"Saskatchewan has been pro-nuclear for a while because uranium is involved with it. The friendly atmosphere for nuclear in Saskatchewan, which we're already used to, seems to be spreading even further west, which is good news for the industry," Laferrere said. "I think public opinion is moving at astounding rates right now. Alberta is very seriously considering a nuclear build. Even British Columbia, which used to be very anti-nuclear, is starting to think about it -- much quicker than we thought."

Sitting in a nearly empty hotel conference room, Laferrere makes it clear that when the opportunity arises, he would like to see an Areva reactor in Western Canada. With the recent nuclear announcement coming from Alberta, Laferrere is keeping a close eye on the situation. Although plans for a nuclear reactor there aren't a done deal, Calgary-based Energy Alberta Corp. said its partner, Atomic Energy of Canada, would use Candu reactor technology if its applications are approved.

"We're interested in working in Alberta, definitely, and we're continuing contacts for that," he said. "The business model is not the kind of business model Areva would use; we would rather partner with an existing utility. But still everything that goes on in the industry is positive for the industry, and I'm watching it very closely. We just wouldn't do it this way."

With buzz around the nuclear horizon in the West, Laferrere notes that without uranium mining in Saskatchewan, Areva would be at a significant disadvantage in the industry. Though a provincial election could alter some contacts in his address book, he doubts any major changes would take place if a new party came into power.

A nuclear power plant in White court would be a carbon offset to the pollution spewed by the lumber processing plants. And in effect would allow them to continue spewing, without having to add scrubbers and new technology to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Whitecourt is also a hub into the Tarsands. Which is another reason the nuclear industry is looking at it. In the global economy the way big oil treats the environment, using up fresh water for tarsands extraction, creating deserts of sand from the extracted mud, whether in Ecuador or Whitecourt, it's all the same.
Long term pain for short term gain.

As bobert the blogger writes from the Amazon jungle on Blogging It Real he compares the situation of Ecuadorian oil workers, many working for Canadian companies, with those in Whitecourt. Of course some of those Ecuadorian workers may be coming here soon.

I’m in the Amazon. In a place called las joyas de sachas. It should be a pretty town, but it is the text book definition of an ecological and human disaster. The girl here is in a "soccer pitch" and that dark horizontal line is indeed the petrol vein. This is the place that Texaco came tearing into, and pulled out as much crude oil as possible with very little given to environmental and human health. The public outcry of Texaco’s handicraft forced them to change their name to Chevron. You know, a new name means a new history, no?

Despite Texaco / Chevron rubbing the slate clean, the after effects of their work in the Amazon is still devastating, as all the new petroleum developers continue to follow a few basic rules: pay nothing to environmental sustainability, pay very little to the Ecuadorian government (only $4 - $7 of every barrel of oil pulled out of Ecuador, actually stays in Ecuador), and pay the workers next too nothing.

Oil workers in sachas get paid about $120 a month, when the work is good. If it is slow, or there is maintenance to be done on the pipeline, that number goes down…a lot. The rates of cancer, according to some local doctors, are skyrocketing! Cancer is just about ready to takeover as the number one killer in sachas. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment, to have a first world disease compete among diseases of the poor for the champion of morbidity. I can see the mayor now, broadcasting to all how 25 oil workers died from cancer, while only 14 pregnant mothers died on the road to the hospital to give birth (this is quite a common occurrence, as despite the abundance of Texas tea, locals can hardly afford anything, let alone a working vehicle with petrol in it).

So now, I’m curious. About 6,000km to the north and a little to the west is Alberta. Canada’s very own American State. In June I was passing through the town of Whitecourt, another oil town. Whitecourt is struggling, in its own way, as it can’t build enough houses or schools to accommodate the growing population that is seeking fortune on the oil fields. Car dealers can’t keep up with the demand for hummers, and the guy selling big screen TV’s is struggling to keep inventory in his store for more than a day.

At the local Boston Pizza, the young oil workers, almost all high school drop-outs who abhor any idea of higher education as salaries of $100,000 for a guy without grade 12 math is pretty hard to turn down, are doing lines of cocaine in the bathroom. They just can’t spend their money fast enough, so it goes up their nose. Without their grade 12, and the mentality of a spoiled kid in the candy store, they spend and spend.

What I can’t figure out is why my pals in Whitecourt, who don’t have enough math skills to do their own taxes, have the right to furiously spend money as if it were on fire. And in the light of the bonfire comes the chatter of how Alberta needs private healthcare, more private schools, and won’t give one cent from the oil boom to other provinces who are struggling with public debt.

Meanwhile in the broiling Amazon, oil workers only have the right to work, get paid next to nothing and die from being poisoned. Oil is oil. Be it from Alberta or Ecuador. The world market says there is no difference between oil pulled out of ground by a group of guys who get paid $100,000 a year compared to another group of guys who do the very same job, and sell the proceeds to the very same market, for about $1400 a year.

Halliburton and friends should have an annual worker exchange program! The boys from Alberta should come down to the Amazon and get cancer, and the Ecuadorians should enjoy a month in Whitecourt complete with nightly visits to Boston Pizza’s bathroom.

In many ways Alberta is the whitewash of oil. It justifies the extraction, because life is good for those who do it. But, the grim reality is that most of the world’s oil is pulled out of the ground by the desperate of the earth, who either have to suffer through bad health or brutal violence, and in the case of Iraq…both! If the entire world’s oil was pulled out of the ground with same lifestyle and mentality as it is in Alberta, we would be paying a solid $20 a gallon for fuel. No questions there.

But most of the world’s population enjoys bargain prices on oil, and complain about the imposed taxes that get thrown in there. It’s the brutality of labour conditions coupled with trade policies that ensure that next to no money remains in the communities of oil workers; money that could be put into safety equipment, transportation systems and basic social services that could do something about the monthly occurrence of a dead-would-be-mother lying in the ditch 20km from the nearest hospital. Spikes in energy prices might occur from time to time when speculators smell war, or hurricanes, but the baseline price, is based on places like sachas. Places torn open and left to rot, with absolutely no capacity to take care of those in need.

It’s the same philosophy that lies in Whitecourt, only seen through the fun-house mirror that is the global economy.

SEE:

RONA Vs Greenpeace

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Closing The Barn Door

Alberta premier promises public input on nuclear plant

Sure but the Nuke Alberta gang has already has announced that it has a site.

Calgary-based Energy Alberta revealed plans for what could become the province's first nuclear power plant yesterday but remained tight-lipped on a consumer who would use the majority of its energy. Energy Alberta announced it has filed an application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a license to own and operate a nuclear power plant 30 km west of Peace River.

Public transparency about this company and its links to the Government would go along way to really revealing whose pushing this.And that is not something we will get from this government regardless of 'public hearings'.

An upstart Alberta firm with no experience in nuclear energy has taken its first official step to build the province's first nuclear power plant, saying yesterday that it has the backing of a large but unnamed company working in the province.

The provincial government is open minded on potential future energy sources, said Jason Chance, spokesman for Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight.

Energy Alberta Corp., run by Calgary entrepreneur Wayne Henuset, has filed an application for a licence to prepare a site for its proposed $6.2-billion nuclear power plant with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Formed in 2005, Energy Alberta is also backed by Hank Swartout, founder and former CEO of Precision Drilling Trust, the company he built into the country's largest driller of oil and natural gas wells.

Besides the Stelmach government loves public hearings.It's a sop to democracy in by the One Party State. The public can have their say and the government will ignore their recommendations.

Also See:

Nuke The Tar Sands

Dion Pro Nuke

Cutting Your Nose

Energy

CANDU

Peak Oil

Tar Sands



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Oilsands Rip Off

Here is a damning confession from Alberta's CEO, Ed Stelmach. Our provincial royalty rate is so low that the Feds make more money off the Tarsands then the people of Alberta!

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has urged caution on a Commons committee report that suggests more federal involvement in the oil sands and a reduction in tax benefits for producers.

"Everyone forgets that over the next 20-year period, about $51-billion, 41 per cent of the income, flows to the federal government," he said yesterday.

"They actually make more on the oil sands than we do.

And if that isn't bad enough the panel appointed to look at Alberta's royalty scheme is made up of the same Calgary Petroleum Club boys that got us in this mess in the first place.Critics skeptical of board chosen to review Alberta's petroleum royalties


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Funding A Myth

While the petro economy in Alberta gets bashed the Tired Old Tories plow ahead with funding for the mythical carbon capture and storage. What a waste of money.And this from a government that supposedly is not in the business of funding business, picking winners and losers. Well carbon capture and storage is not just a loser, it does not exist yet. Call it funding the Emperors New Clothes instead of saving for a rainy day. Clean Coal technology is a right wing fantasy.

However, in the face of a $6.5-billion surplus shortfall and multibillion-dollar "green" spending commitments made when oil peaked at $147 US a barrel in July, Finance Minister Iris Evans said Tuesday she doesn't expect there will be anything left to save.
In fact, the province's new fiscal update revealed the heritage fund's value has fallen to $15.8 billion from $17.1 billion, due to the financial market meltdown.
Several government critics are calling the government's decision to push ahead with $2 billion for technology to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions foolhardy.
NDP Leader Brian Mason said the province should inject those public dollars into savings, not hand over seed money to help the energy industry cut its carbon footprint.
"That is just a tiny drop in the bucket for an unproven technology that essentially landfills carbon, rather than focussing on real reductions in carbon emissions," Mason charged.
Evans, however, defended the spending, saying it will help strengthen the province's environmental reputation. Alberta produces more greenhouse gas emissions than any other province.
"Our $2 billion towards our carbon capture and storage is a necessary expenditure to show the world, to show Canada, that we're serious about environment and we're going to get emissions under control," Evans said

Now if only we had those oil and gas royalties in place our provincial budget would not have taken such a hit

SEE:

Harpers Alberta Green Plan

Between Coal and a Hard Place

King Coal

Coal=Cancer

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