Alberta will begin public consultations this fall on the potential role of nuclear energy in the province’s electricity grid, Premier Danielle Smith announced earlier this month.

The consultations are expected to start between September and October and will be led by Parliamentary Secretary for Nuclear Energy Chantelle de Jonge. Smith said the government wants to hear from Albertans before any decisions are made about building nuclear infrastructure, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and large-scale conventional plants.

Alberta’s grid still relies heavily on natural gas, but growing demand from industry, including oilsands operations and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence data centres, is driving the province to explore alternative sources of baseload power. Smith said SMRs could provide both electricity and steam for remote industrial operations, particularly in northern Alberta, where connecting to the broader grid is costly and complicated.

A private project led by Energy Alberta near Peace River is also under consideration. The proposal calls for the construction of two to four CANDU reactors, which could generate up to 4,800 megawatts of electricity — nearly a quarter of Alberta’s current installed capacity. The project, once dismissed as too large for the province, has gained renewed attention amid forecasts of steep increases in energy demand.

Ontario’s Darlington site, where construction is underway on North America’s first grid-connected SMR, is serving as a model for Alberta. U.S.-based developer X-Energy has also expressed interest in Alberta, with company officials saying their technology is well suited to the province’s industrial needs.

Environmental advocates, including the Pembina Institute, have urged the government to weigh the high costs and long timelines of nuclear against faster and cheaper options such as renewables and battery storage.

Energy Alberta filed its initial project description with the federal government in April, triggering a review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Results from the provincial consultation will help inform Alberta’s next steps in determining whether nuclear power should play a role in its long-term energy strategy.