Ontario eyes more nuclear power plants
Government notes suggest new reactor may be built on Lake Huron in as little as 7 years PROVINCE MOST IN NEED
Ontario is likely to build one or more new nuclear reactors, beginning in as little as seven years, says an internal document from Natural Resources Canada.
The prospect of nuclear expansion brings “better opportunities” for the nuclear industry, which the department supports, says the document, a set of suggested speaking notes for the minister.
The new reactor or reactors may be built at the Bruce nuclear station on Lake Huron, the department says.
And an accompanying forecast from Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., which designs Canadian Candu reactors, looks ahead to building the equivalent of six of the giant Darlington reactors, the biggest in service today.
AECL says Ontario will need at least 5,440 megawatts of new nuclear generating capacity — the equipment to generate more than 5.4 million watts of electricity. AECL is aiming to reach $1-billion in annual sales, at home and abroad, by 2008- 2009.
The Natural Resources briefing notes dated April of this year suggest what minister John Efford should say if asked whether Canada will build new nuclear stations.
“ We do not foresee any nuclear new builds in Canada in this decade,” the notes say. “However, there are better opportunities for the deployment of new nuclear generating capacity in Canada after 2012.”
The document identifies Bruce Power, the private firm that has leased eight reactors (six of them working) at the Bruce plant, as being interested in building more.
“Over the past year, Bruce Power has been examining ... the feasibility of building one or more nuclear reactors at its established Bruce County site,” say the briefing notes.
“If the study concludes that there is a sound business case to be made for expanding the current fleet of operational reactors at the Bruce site, Bruce Power intends to move ahead with the plan.”
The company has not yet decided whether its two non-working reactors are worth fixing.
A Bruce Power spokesman confirmed the company is studying the construction of new reactors, but says the main focus is in deciding whether to fix the older ones.
The Natural Resources notes specify that Ontario is the province most in need of new generating stations.
They also caution that the province, not the federal government, must make any decision to build new reactors.
The notes were obtained by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin under an Access to Information request.
Ontario used to get the majority of its power from 20 nuclear reactors. Some are now shut down and awaiting multi-billionrefurbishment.
Meanwhile, the province is closing coal-fired power stations because they cause air pollution. The third major source is hydroelectric power, but most of Ontario’s big rivers and waterfalls are already in use.
What’s left, as Natural Resources notes, is a power shortage in Ontario. The province’s reactors date mainly from the 1970s and five are in long-term shutdowns because they need repair.
Nuclear reactors are expensive and have a shaky financial history. The Darlington station, Ontario’s newest, was budgeted at $3.9-billion but cost $14.4-billion by the time it was completed in 1989 —an overrun of more than $10 billion.
Natural Resources Canada says nuclear power is a key part of this country’s plan to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases, which come from burning coal, oil and gas.
Ontario Power Generation says the federal papers and their expansion forecast are news to it.
“ We don’t have any plans” for more nuclear stations, said OPG spokesman Phil LeSauvage.
He noted the Ontario government is waiting for a report on the future mix of power generation sources, due Dec. 1. After that it will be Ontario’s decision whether to build more nuclear reactors.
OPG is the operator of the Pickering and Darlington nuclear stations on Lake Ontario, with 12 of the province’s 20 reactors. The other eight are Bruce Power’s.