Press Release: Clean energy advocates call on Sask. government to choose renewable energy, not nuclear power
PRESS RELEASE
Saskatchewan Environmental Society
July 6, 2026
For immediate release
Clean energy advocates call on Saskatchewan government to choose renewable energy, not nuclear power
As the Government of Saskatchewan continues planning for nuclear power, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES), together with the Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan (CCGS), are jointly calling on the province to change course and invest in renewable energy, battery storage, electricity conservation, electricity efficiency, interprovincial connections, and grid improvements instead.
“Nuclear power is the wrong choice for Saskatchewan” says Peter Prebble, SES board member. “It is far too expensive, much too slow to build, and comes with long-term environmental and health risks. Opting for nuclear power will bury SaskPower in debt and drive electricity rates up sharply. Saskatchewan has world class renewable energy resources and cost-effective opportunities to conserve energy and pursue co-generation of electricity. We should be investing in solutions that are affordable, proven, environmentally friendly, and available now.”
Recent nuclear projects show why Saskatchewan should be cautious. The Saskatchewan government has estimated a 300 megawatt (MW) small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) will cost as much as $5 billion, but experience elsewhere suggests that figure may already be out of date. At Darlington, Ontario, the same BWRX-300 technology selected for Canada’s first 300 MW SMR is now budgeted at $7.7 billion. Meanwhile, the first SMR project planned in the United States has been abandoned because of spiralling costs, and every other nuclear power plant built in North America and western Europe in the past 15 years has proven to be two to three times more expensive than planned.
“Saskatchewan ratepayers should not be asked to carry the financial risk of nuclear power. Every dollar committed to nuclear is a dollar that cannot be used for lower cost and faster emissions reductions,” says Bob Halliday, SES board member. “Saskatchewan also needs to ask whether it has enough reliable cooling water for nuclear reactors, especially considering current and other future water uses and as climate change increases pressure on our rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.”
Saskatchewan is already seeing renewable energy projects move forward, including Indigenous-led wind and solar projects supported through long-term power purchase agreements. These projects can deliver clean electricity, local jobs, and economic reconciliation without creating radioactive waste. In fact, for the same public investment, renewable energy projects with battery storage could deliver three times as much electricity for Saskatchewan as investing in one SMR. That’s because the installed costs for onshore wind, solar power, and battery storage have dropped dramatically over the past decade, while nuclear costs continue to rise.
“Nuclear reactors will contaminate the air we breathe, and the water needed to keep the reactors functioning and cool. This is the same water people drink, swim and play in, use to irrigate their land, and where the fish we eat live,” says Karen Weingeist, a member of CCGS. “This contamination happens during routine reactor operations. And if there is an accident, the contamination will be exponentially higher in the surrounding neighbourhoods and beyond.”
SES and CCGS are together calling on the Government of Saskatchewan and SaskPower to stop prioritizing nuclear power and instead commit to a renewable energy plan that is affordable, reliable, transparent, and rooted in Saskatchewan’s own abundant wind and solar resources.
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Please note accompanying factsheets appended to the press release in the PDF below.