It’s an issue that never fails to generate controversy: nuclear energy. At stake is the future of the planet and billions of dollars. 

NB Power says the controversial energy source is key for its strategy to generate low-carbon electricity.

The utility already operates the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, a CANDU reactor located about 50 km southwest of Saint John. 

Among other sources, New Brunswick’s power mix also includes electricity from NB Power’s coal-fired Belledune Generating Station on the province’s north shore. 

The federal government says that facility, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the province, has to stop operations by 2030. 

NB Power plans to build what’s called a small modular nuclear reactor, or SMR, at the site of the existing Point Lepreau nuclear site, on the Bay of Fundy.     

Government and industry describe SMRs as “considerably smaller in size and power output than conventional nuclear power reactors, with enhanced safety features.”

Supporters say it will be a key component in global efforts to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis caused by greenhouse gas emissions.  

But opponents of nuclear energy say SMR technology is untested and risky, both for the environment and government coffers, and that it could even contribute to nuclear weapons proliferation.

They have called for a more aggressive turn towards renewable sources, such as solar and wind, also known as intermittent sources.

A legislative committee met this week to hear competing views on the topic, with witnesses ranging from academics to environmental groups, officials from industry, First Nations and NB Power itself. 

The committee’s members include Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development Mike Holland and Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton. 

Hearings began on Tuesday with a presentation by officials from ARC Clean Energy, one of two companies that have received tens of millions in subsidies from the provincial and federal governments to develop SMRs in New Brunswick. 

CHMA monitored the first day of hearings to bring you voices from the different sides of this story, with MLAs quizzing witnesses about their views.