UPDATE 1-Bruce Power moves ahead with Alberta nuclear plan

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CALGARY, Alberta, March 13 (Reuters) - Bruce Power put in motion plans for Alberta's first nuclear power plant by applying to regulators to build up to four reactors in the northern part of the province, the company said on Thursday.

Bruce Power, which runs the massive Bruce nuclear complex in Ontario, has taken over a push to build a Western Canadian plant after buying out privately held Energy Alberta. It closed the deal on Thursday.

Bruce Power said it wants to build a complex in the Peace River area of Alberta that could eventually generate 4,000 megawatts for the province, which has suffered from tight electricity supplies amid an oil boom.

The first unit would could start up as early as 2017, the company said. The regulatory process could take three years.

Bruce Power, a partnership of TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Cameco Corp (CCO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), and BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust, said it has not chosen a specific reactor design for the project. It will chose among several new-generation models.

Nuclear power has been the topic of heated debate in the province since Energy Alberta, run by Calgary businessman Wayne Henuset and oil executive Hank Swartout, proposed a C$6.2 billion ($6.3 billion) plant for Peace River, saying it would provide electricity without greenhouse gas emissions.

However, opponents questioned the safety of the technology and seized on the company's backtracking last September after first saying it had a buyer lined up most of the output.

"The next three years will be about talking to the people who actually live and work in the Peace Country," Bruce Power Chief Executive Duncan Hawthorne said in a statement.