POWER April 2021 - 9

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Chrobak noted companies are cognizant
of Canada's goal to meet a 30%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
by 2030, and the country's goal of zero
emissions from the energy sector by
2050. Gorman agreed, telling POWER: " I
think that small modular reactors have a
very important role to play in decarbonizing
industry and also extraction processes.
These small nuclear reactors can
provide heat and power and hydrogen. In
Canada they'll be put into the oil sands
to power field operations. Small modular
reactors are really important to reach
into these really difficult-to-decarbonize
areas. We have this mounting climate
anxiety, and the feeling [that] we're not
making progress quickly enough, and
small modular reactors have created
renewed interest in nuclear technology.
It's allowed all types of people, including
policymakers, to take a new look at
nuclear power. "
Gorman's group has said nuclear is a
win-win scenario, with the technology
providing both environmental and economic
benefits in a clean energy mix. " I
also recognize that it's just another tool
in a toolkit of things that we need. One
of the important things about SMRs,
they appealed to me in the first place because
they can act as a partner to renewables, "
said Gorman. " We haven't made
progress because we keep building coal
and gas plants to fit with renewables. "
Gorman said Chalk River has " a really
important role to play. We've got
massive investments going into those
national laboratories, these sites where
they can pilot parts or all of these SMR
technologies. We need to down-select
and focus on a handful of technologies
that can really suit the niche opportunities
that we have here, focus on the particular
technologies for the industries we
want to decarbonize. These demonstration
projects can be useful by addressing
some of the questions or concerns
people have about the technology themselves.
We can use these small modular
reactors to clear up misunderstandings
about nuclear. " He specifically noted
Canada's rural areas, looking for a way to
use a cleaner alternative to diesel fuel to
power their regions.
" We have a lot of northern communities,
a lot of indigenous communities
that are off-grid, [with a] precarious supply
of vital heat and electricity, " Gorman
said. " They take delivery of diesel at
great expense, with a lot of emissions
and pollution. We've got some very small
modular reactors, and they are ideally
April 2021 | POWER
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9
suited to supply power to these northern
communities. But it takes a lot of
care and understanding for these communities
to embrace this. They're beginning
to understand this, but it's going to
take a longer cycle for them, because
it's new. There's not a single community
that's going to be forced to take on this
new technology, it's going to have to be
something they embrace. "
Gorman said the culture of Canada's
diverse regions and populations also
must be addressed. " What we're seeing
with the indigenous communities,
[this technology is] going to be very
applicable to some regions, not of
interest to other regions. Four of 10
provinces have signed an MOU [memorandum
of understanding] around
SMRs for decarbonization. Then we
have the provinces who have 100%
hydropower, and they have expressed
no interest in developing nuclear. "
Gorman said his previous experience
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POWER April 2021

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