A recent conversation saw community members learn more about what the future looks like as nuclear energy is being developed for the Estevan area. The Southeast TechHub held a breakfast event Friday morning, with Executive Director Gordan More and Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Suppliers’ Association (SIMSA) Nuclear Specialist, Grant Cherkas answering questions.
First, More talked about his hopes with the SMR development in the southeast and what that would bring for the local economy.
“The thing is, we’re going to have a 10 year spend that your businesses can get a contract for. What do you want to then do with that 10 years of sales? How are you going to grow your company? Because the other piece about this is, whatever you learn, you can hopefully go out into the world and take those same skills. If Poland, Romania, Australia, any of those places take on nuclear as they’re talking about, you will have the skillset to go out there.”
Cherkas talked about his work with SIMSA and how local companies can benefit from cooperation.
“The SIMSA as an association is comprised of member companies that work somewhere in the supply chain. So they’re the companies that build or design or make things used for the mining and industrial sector. My role is to help member companies. There’s about 380 member companies understand the nuclear industry and understand how to potentially get into working in this space and how to evaluate the business opportunities.”
With the SMR being developed for the southeast, Cherkas gave his thoughts on the project and what kind of timeline business owners might be looking at.
“I’m going to offer my opinion and it probably may or may not, it’s not going to align with SaskPower, but I’ve been doing this a long time and I know what this looks like. So the decision to refurbish coal means that the effort is going to be redirected to coal and that’s a 20-year asset. My best guess is that I think we’re going to start digging somewhere in the late 2030s.”
With time for businesses and individuals to get ready for the industry, the Southeast TechHub alongside Southeast College and SIMSA are hosting a workshop this March to talk about what people can do to become part of the industry.
Cherkas invites people out to learn more about the effects the industry will have.
“We do have a two-day program and where I’m going to, I guess, start slow and over the course of two days, walk through how the nuclear industry works. What do the business opportunities typically look like, with a focus and with thoughts around what SaskPower is planning to build and then eventually get into more and more details.”
“What I would say is, if this is of interest to you, think about coming from the first part where you get the high-level overview. If it appeals more to you or if you’re seriously contemplating getting involved in the nuclear projects, stay for two days, but you don’t have to stay for the whole two days and I understand it’s quite a commitment just in time alone.”
The workshop is set for March 18th and 19th, with more information available on the Southeast College’s website.