Community Solutions
Providing Clean Power to Our Community
What?
We are Community Solutions, a grassroots organization that wants to bring clean, affordable and safe energy to provide both electricity and process heat for the tar sands and oil recovery operations in our community to drive innovation, collaboration and growth.
Why?
The tar sands form the center of our economy. We need them to support our families and the country's growth and development, but we need them to be a cleaner operation.
The oil sands in Alberta account for 1/3 of Alberta's primary energy demand. This includes the extraction and processing of the crude bitumen to make oil. In 2016 2.4 million barrels per day of crude bitumen were produced, with this expected to rise to 3.6 million barrels per day by 2026. The use of natural gas in this process accounts for over 80 kg of CO2 per barrel released to the environment. This accounts for 8.5% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.
How?
Community Solutions was formed to bring awareness to our community and other Albertan communities like ours about the use of a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to clean up the tar sands operations. We have met with several SMR vendors, university professors and government agencies to understand the possible opportunities and have landed on a currently proven, modular reactor that can range from 100 to 600 MWe power with process heat application.
The pebble-bed reactor is a walk-away safe, modular design with flexible fuel types perfect for operation in our community.
Walk-Away Safe
This reactor is known as melt-down proof, without significant radiation release in accidents.
Naturally safe fuel.
Helping the Industry
The heat produced by the reactor, usually wasted, is recycled and made useful for the community.
Low Proliferation
The reactor is able to operate using low enriched uranium
Fuel from the reactor is more difficult to reprocess
Requires a smaller containment area
Less Complexity, More Simplicity
The design is passively safe and does not need complex safety systems.
A Strong Fuel Design
TRISO fuel is able to withstand high temperatures with layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide.
Pebble bed system allows for on-line refueling.
Modular
This plant is a lower-risk investment, cost-competitive and can be deployed for a wide range of power needs.