7 First Nations in N.B invest in small modular nuclear reactors

Several First Nations communities in New Brunswick are investing in small modular nuclear reactors in order to "protect Mother Earth," while also getting a return on their investment, said Pabineau First Nations Chief Terry Richardson.

On Monday, Richardson announced the North Shore Mi'kmaqCounciland its seven First Nation member communitiesare investing $3 million inSMR technology with two Saint John-based companies.

The communities have signed an equity agreement to buy $2 million in shares with Moltex Energy and $1 million with ARC Clean Energy

"It's an investment that's going to allow First Nations some equity and that's important," said Richardson after the announcement in Saint John.

WATCH | Pabineau Chief Terry Richardson on how SMRs can help Mother Earth:

Why the North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council is investing in small modular nuclear reactors

1 year ago

Duration 0:48

North Shore Mi'kmaq Tribal Council investing $3 million across two Saint John-based companies developing small modular nuclear reactors.

Richardson said First Nations communities are very interested in protecting "Mother Earth" and are confident the technology is sound.

ARC and Moltexhave already received tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to develop reactors.

New Brunswick already has a regular nuclear generating station, which is not far from the Saint John on the Bay of Fundy.

Millions already invested by N.B. government

In 2021, the province handed ARC $20 million, while Moltex received more than $50 million from the federal government.

The previous provincial Liberal government gave each of them $5 million.

ARC's 100 megawatt liquid sodium-cooled fast reactor is expected to be operational by 2029, while Moltex's 300 megawatt stable salt reactor and spent fuel recovery system are expected to be operational by the early 2030s.

As the name implies, SMRs are much smaller than traditional nuclear reactors.

While a conventional nuclear reactor generates about 1,000 megawatts of energy, SMRs typically produces about 300 megawatts, Rory O'Sullivan, chief executive officer of Moltex, said at the announcement Monday.

"The first one in New Brunswick will be that size 300 megawatts," O'Sullivan said of the reactor Moltex wants to build next to Point Lepreau."The difference with our technology compared to others is that our fuel is actually recycled nuclear waste."

"So we can take the waste that's stored at Point Lepreau already that's currently planned to go into disposal and is radioactive for many hundreds of thousands of years we can convert that into fuel for our reactor."

Instead of storing that waste underground, O'Sullivan said "we can literally turn it into energy."

Although there is still waste produced, he saidit's "less radioactive, easier and safer to dispose of."

"By reusing the spent fuel, we can reduce the high-level, long-lived waste by as much as 99 per cent," said Sullivan.

And, no additional imported fuel would be needed.

"Everything is already at the existing Point Lepreau site."

O'Sullivan said Moltex isn't the first to reuse spent fuel, but he said Moltex is the first to do so in "a holistic way that can use all of the man-made unnatural elements and reduce all of them."

While it might sound too good to be true, O'Sullivan said, "we've got very robust science and evidence and development that shows this is absolutely possible. But there's a long way to go."

He said they still have to "demonstrate everything to the Canadian nuclear regulator and the international regulator to demonstrate that everything is safe and will work effectively."

O'Sullivan said the company wants to prove it can be done economically, too.

"So we've done a lot of different economic modelling and cost estimates to date and it shows that this is a very competitive product against fossil fuels and even more so in a zero-carbon world where you're trying to decarbonize."

Mother Earth is hurting, chief says

Richardson said First Nations communities are excited about getting in on the ground level with SMRs in New Brunswick.

"No risk, no reward," he said about getting in on Moltex's very first SMR."I mean at the end of the day, everything has risk and we believe this is worth the risk.

"This is one of those times we have to do something for Mother Earth because, you know, she's hurting right now. And you only have to look at what's happening worldwide."

O'Sullivan said the North Shore "investment is at a significant discount to other investors, taking into account their important role in the project."

He said the company has "a long list of other customers in North America and internationally who are interested in this. But they all want the second one."

He said energy prices will fall with each projectand will reach "as low as seven cents a kWh" by the late 2030s, although that doesn't include transmission and other costs.

N.B. Power officials wereasked on Monday about the status of discussions with ARC and Moltexbut have not answered.