Greenspan: Nuclear Could Play Role In Alberta Oil Sands

In a speech last Friday at the Calgary Convention Center, former U.S. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspand said that the province of Alberta needs to think about nuclear when it comes to extracting oil from the province's tar sands:

Greenspan also argued that nuclear power needs to be considered in Alberta’s oilsands industry, an idea that is increasingly gaining traction as an alternative to the burning of natural gas. Oilsands plants — which are set to quadruple their output over the next few decades — are enormous consumers of natural gas.

“The only concern that we have is that you’re still using a lot of natural gas … you could use nuclear up there as well,”Greenspan said.

Greenspan has been speaking frequently about energy issues since his departure from the Fed. For links to previous speeches, click here and here. For previous looks at the oil sands question, click here and here.

Technorati tags: Energy, Oil, Alberta, Canada, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Energy, Electricity, Natural Gas, Alan Greenspan