Ottawa to announce $50M for Bruce Power nuclear plant expansion

The federal government is spending $50 million on preliminary work for an ex‐ pansion of the Bruce Power nuclear plant - Ottawa's first major investment in expanding a large nuclear plant in decades.

The money will come from the Clean Electricity Predevelopment Program, a Nat‐ ural Resources Canada fund that supports preparatory work on large clean electric‐ ity projects.

That work will include launching Indigenous consul‐ tations, getting regulatory ap‐ provals and preparing the construction site.

Natural Resources and En‐ ergy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Ontario En‐ ergy Minister Todd Smith are making the official an‐ nouncement today.

Ontario announced last July it intends to add a third nuclear generating station Bruce Power.

Bruce Power plans to ex‐ pand its existing plant, lo‐ to cated on the rim of Lake Huron in Tiverton, Ont., to add 4,800 megawatts of out‐ put - enough to power 4.8 million homes. The expan‐ sion will nearly double the output of the plant, which is already one of the largest nu‐ clear generating stations in the world.

The expansion would be Canada's first new large-scale nuclear plant construction in 30 years.

A source told CBC News the project is a "major prior‐ ity" for Ontario, which is seeking to decarbonize and expand its electricity grid. De‐ mand for electricity in the province is poised to soar due to a growing population and the auto sector's transi‐ tion to electric vehicles.

The source said Wilkinson and Smith have been work‐ ing closely on "shared objec‐ tives" to expand the electric‐ ity grid, which includes ex‐ pansion of nuclear power generation.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is betting big on nuclear. Last year, the province unveiled plans to add more small modular re‐ actors to the one already in the works at Darlington, and plans to refurbish the Picker‐ ing plant.

In a 2023 interview, Smith told CBC News that Ontario needs to expand nuclear pro‐ duction to ramp up electricity production.

Ottawa signals increas‐ ing openness to nuclear

The federal government has suggested it's open to us‐ ing nuclear energy to green the national grid.

The federal government announced earlier this week it had updated its green bond program to include some nuclear projects.

Last year's budget also made nuclear projects eligi‐ ble for a generous new clean energy tax credit, something the Canadian Nuclear Associ‐ ation called "clear and strong" support for nuclear energy.

Last April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is "very serious" about reviving nuclear power.

"As we look at what base‐ load energy requirements are going to be needed by Canada over the coming decades, especially as we continue to draw in global gi‐ ants like Volkswagen, who choose Canada partially be‐ cause we have a clean energy mix to offer ... we're going to need a lot more energy," he said. "We're going to have to be doing much more nucle‐ ar."