Westinghouse Electric Company and Energy Alberta have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the deployment of an AP1000® advanced modular reactor in Alberta. The collaboration marks a potential turning point for Western Canada’s energy landscape, positioning Alberta to become the country’s next nuclear province.
Under the agreement, the companies will conduct joint technical and commercial studies, business development activities, and stakeholder engagement, including partnerships with Indigenous Nations and communities near the Peace River region, where Energy Alberta has proposed the province’s first large-scale nuclear facility.
“Collaborating with a trusted, clean-technology provider marks a significant step forward in unlocking the full potential of nuclear energy for Alberta and Western Canada,” said Scott Henuset, CEO and President of Energy Alberta. “This partnership helps lay the groundwork for a cleaner, more reliable and resilient energy future that supports broad-based industrial growth and long-term sustainability.”
Alberta’s energy mix has historically relied on oil, gas, and renewables, but surging industrial electricity demand—fueled by hydrogen production, manufacturing, and AI-driven data centers—is pushing the province to diversify. “The collaboration between Westinghouse and Energy Alberta demonstrates the private sector’s readiness to build a better, brighter energy future for our province,” said Nathan Neudorf, Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities.
At the core of the partnership is Westinghouse’s AP1000® Generation III+ reactor, a proven design currently operating in the United States and China, with new units under construction in Poland and Ukraine. The reactor’s passive safety systems—which rely on natural circulation, gravity, and compressed gas rather than active pumps—allow it to cool safely even in a total power loss.
Each AP1000 unit can power over 750,000 homes annually, and a four-unit facility could serve more than three million. Westinghouse’s Canadian economic analysis estimates that building such a facility could contribute CAD 28.7 billion ($21 billion) in GDP during construction and CAD 8.1 billion ($5.9 billion) annually during operations, supporting roughly 12,000 full-time jobs across Canada.
“Alberta is in an exciting position to be Canada’s next greenfield nuclear province, and Westinghouse is ready now to bring its proven and already operating AP1000 advanced modular reactor to meet Alberta’s nuclear ambitions,” said John Gorman, President of Westinghouse Canada. “This project will harness Alberta’s skilled workforce and supply chains to deliver a ‘made-in-Alberta’ nuclear plant that creates good-paying jobs while diversifying the economy.”
Westinghouse—jointly owned by Brookfield Renewable and Cameco—has expanded its Canadian presence through offices in Burlington, Kitchener, and Port Elgin, as well as a manufacturing facility in Peterborough. The company employs over 250 people nationwide and recently opened an engineering hub in Kitchener with more than 200 staff.
Through its localization strategy, Westinghouse plans to use Canada’s supply chain not only for domestic builds but for Westinghouse’s stated line-of-sight/pipeline planned or contracted worldwide. Each new unit is expected to generate an additional CAD 880 million ($642 million) in Canadian GDP.
Beyond economic metrics, Westinghouse has made community partnership central to its Canadian operations. It is a Committed Member of the Progressive Aboriginal Relations program through the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and funds STEM scholarships for women at Ontario Tech University.
The proposed Peace River Nuclear Project would mark Alberta’s first commercial-scale nuclear power station. Energy Alberta has already initiated early engagement with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, beginning environmental and site-selection studies.
If approved, the facility could add up to 4,800 MW of zero-emission baseload power—roughly one-quarter of Alberta’s current electricity generation capacity. That output would help stabilize a rapidly evolving grid increasingly shaped by intermittent renewables and fossil-fuel retirements.
The collaboration aligns with national policy priorities under Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan and complements provincial developments such as Ontario’s Darlington SMR Project and SMR development plans at the Point Lepreau site. Together, these efforts reflect a wider move toward regional diversification and the recognition that nuclear energy is critical for achieving net-zero electricity by 2050.
