Bruce Power said it applied to the federal nuclear regulator to prepare a site for a Peace River-area complex that could eventually generate 4,000 megawatts for the province, which has suffered from tight power supplies amid the oil boom.
The first unit could start up as early as 2017, the company said. The regulatory and public consultation process could take three years.
Bruce Power chief executive Duncan Hawthorne began the process by holding information sessions at three towns near the proposed site at Lac Cardinal.
Nuclear power is a controversial topic in Alberta. It was first proposed to help fuel the fast-expanding oil sands industry, but Hawthorne said his company is not tying its proposal specifically to that.
"We're prepared to take a punt at it, really," he said in a telephone interview.
"We're saying we're prepared to spend the next couple of years evaluating the market opportunity and evaluating the site and talking to the community."
"At the end of this decision-making process, there will either be a green light or there won't. We've got more questions than answers right now."
He said the company will talk to potential customers and study plans for power transmission in Alberta, where the north-south flow of electricity is deemed to be insufficient. Bruce Power, a partnership of TransCanada Corp., Cameco Corp. and BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust, said it has not chosen a specific reactor design.
It will choose from among several new-generation models.
Early estimates peg the cost of the project at $8 billion to $10 billion, Hawthorne said.