Saskatchewan targets 2,600 MW of nuclear by 2050, first large reactor by 2042
Serguey Asael Shinder2 min readThe government of Saskatchewan has published a plan that sets a goal of at least 2,600 MWe of nuclear generating capacity in the Canadian province by 2050, World Nuclear News reports. Titled Delivering Energy Security Through Nuclear Power, it supplements the province's energy security strategy and supply plan of October 2025.
The biggest change is scale. The utility SaskPower, which has been evaluating large reactor technologies, will begin planning for two large reactors in the northwest of the province, with an initial goal of more than 2,000 MW. The first is expected online by 2042. Locations will be evaluated with what the plan calls meaningful engagement with local and Indigenous communities.
The small modular reactor track continues in the southeast. SaskPower has selected the Rafferty site near Estevan for further study for SMR deployment, after several years of site assessment in the area, with a goal of at least 600 MW.
The plan sets out three phases. In 2026 and 2027 the province will finalise its choice of large reactor technology, set planning direction for the northwest units and continue siting around Estevan. From 2027 to 2030 it moves to detailed siting, engagement and readiness work: identifying northwest locations that could host at least two large reactors, and working out what commercial, financing and market conditions would justify a final investment decision in the southeast. Licensing, financing and project decisions are planned from 2030 onward.
Premier Scott Moe pointed to the province's uranium resources and workforce, and said the plan turns that potential into action.
Why it matters
A province with no nuclear plant is now planning for large reactors as well as SMRs, and is putting dates on both. The timeline is long, and the first firm commitments, the technology choice and the sites, fall in the next one to four years.