Canada turns to Nuclear power after 30-year pause to meet demand surge
BNN Bloomberg
Nuclear energy is gaining significant momentum in Ontario, with new plans to expand an existing plant to become the world’s largest and a pledge to add three small modular reactors to a site where another is already being built.
The news marks a shift for an industry that has been stalled for decades amid fears about safety and cost overruns. It’s also seen as a critical step in modernizing an aging power grid that needs to add capacity without boosting already-high electricity costs, or threatening emissions goals.
The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdown — the worst disaster since Chernobyl — slammed the global brakes on nuclear power plans. The Vogtle debacle in the US also provided grist for nuclear’s opponents, in the form of years-long delays and a price tag US$16 billion over budget.
Still, Ontario is charging ahead. The newly announced expansion at the Bruce Power facility marks the first large-scale nuclear build in Canada in over three decades, suggesting nuclear policy may finally be becoming unstuck. The province is home to all but one of the country’s 19 nuclear reactors, most of which were built from the 1960s to 1980s, during which time the Candu reactor became a global favorite.
