Using Nuclear Power to Extract Oil?
April 27, 2009, 9:35 am
Using Nuclear Power to Extract Oil?
By JOHN LORINC
Oil sands
Mining trucks carry loads of oil-laden sand at the Albian Sands project in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
The Associated Press
After several years of speculation, the Alberta government last month released a long-awaited experts report on nuclear power and oil sands and has now embarked on a series of province-wide public consultations.
The move comes on the heels of a decision last month by Bruce Power, a private company that operates a publicly-owned nuclear station in western Ontario, to seek approval to build a $10 billion nuclear station at a site known as Whitemud, about 310 miles northwest of Edmonton.
Bruce Power hopes to begin an environmental assessment next year. Its proposal calls for two to four 1,000-megawatt reactors, with three vendors Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Westinghouse and Areva competing to supply the equipment.
According to the expert panel report, almost 90 percent of Albertas electricity comes from coal or natural gas, and demand is projected to jump 74 percent within the next 15 years, largely due to the needs of the oil sands projects which consumes roughly 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.
At the same time, the National Energy Board has projected a drop in long-term natural gas production in Western Canada...
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/using-nuclear-power-to-extract-oil/?_r=0
Toshiba Nuclear Reactor For Oil Sands To Be Operational By 2020: Reports
The Huffington Post Canada | Posted: 01/18/2013 2:27 pm EST | Updated: 01/18/2013
Toshiba Corporation has developed a small nuclear reactor to power oil sands extraction in Alberta and hopes to have it operational by 2020, according to news reports from Japan.
The Daily Yomiuri reports Toshiba is building the reactor at the request of an unnamed oilsands company.
The reactor would generate between one per cent and 5 per cent as much energy as produced by a typical nuclear power plant, and would not need refueling for 30 years. It would be used to heat water in order to create the steam used to extract bitumen from the oil sands.
Toshiba has completed design work on the reactor and has filed for approval with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Nikkei.com reported. The company is expected to seek approval from Canadian authorities as well...
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/18/toshiba-oil-sands-reactor_n_2505738.html