The diversity and enthusiasm of Saskatchewan’s business community was on display this month at Westinghouse’s Canadian Supplier Symposium, which emphasized the role nuclear energy can play in the economic development of the province.
Check out the lively atmosphere of the symposium as we came together with more than 115 suppliers and community members. Westinghouse is eager to strengthen its regional supply chain of local companies to support our plans to deploy Canada’s first eVinci™ microreactor in Saskatchewan and contribute to the deployment of advanced AP1000® reactors and AP300™ SMRs in Canada and globally.
A recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that every new AP1000 reactor project around the world can contribute $1 billion CAD to Canada’s economy.
“The central theme of the symposium is about developing mutually beneficial partnerships,” said Fabricia Piñeiro, VP of Operating Plant Services for Westinghouse Canada. “The fact that we have such strong engagement from a diverse variety of parties in the province is very meaningful.”
Guy Lonechild of the First Nations Power Authority (FNPA) gave remarks at the opening, and Sheldon Wuttunee of Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resources Centre of Excellence (SKFNNRC) co-emceed the symposium. Both speakers highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for Indigenous communities through partnerships, economic reconciliation and education. Overall, 26 companies attending the symposium identified as Indigenously-owned businesses.
The Saskatchewan event underscores the importance we place on Buying Where We Build and engaging with local companies to support AP1000 projects in their country and around the globe. This summer, we held another Canadian supply chain symposium in Mississauga, Ontario, and, last month, we hosted a global supply chain symposium at our Pittsburgh headquarters. Those are in addition to Westinghouse supplier events in Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom held throughout 2024.
We believe Canada will play a crucial role in our reactor new-build projects and our commitment is further underscored by the opening of Westinghouse’s fifth global engineering hub in Kitchener, Ontario, in June.
“The supply chain in Saskatchewan is of course new to nuclear, but they’re very interested in learning how they can be part of the energy and decarbonization solution for Saskatchewan.” said Agata Leszkiewicz, eVinci Business Development Lead in Westinghouse Canada. “These companies have a lot of passion and a lot of pride in what they do. They really want to see themselves grow and succeed alongside the nuclear industry.”