GREEN RIBBON PANEL REPORT | POLICY & FINANCE
Above: Bruce stations’ six units are slated for refurbishment between 2020 and 2033
Ground zero for Canada’s nuclear energy programme is
Ontario where the province’s three nuclear stations with 18 made-in-Canada CANDU reactors hold over 13,000 MW generating capacity. Aside from Ontario, only one other province, New Brunswick, currently operates a nuclear plant with one 700 MW CANDU reactor – though others are now exploring nuclear programmes. Ontario is home to 15 million people representing about 40% of the country’s population and about the same proportion of GDP. It’s by far Canada’s single largest economic engine. For more than a half century, nuclear has been a cornerstone contributor to reliability, powering Ontario’s engine, and by extension, Canada’s. Since the province closed its last coal plant in 2014,
nuclear has played an oversized generation role, often producing as much as 60% of the province’s electricity. Ontario gets another roughly 25% of its generation from hydropower. Combined, nuclear and hydro comprise a baseload that has made the province one of the lowest- carbon electricity systems in the world, a strategic advantage that’s become a key economic policy plank of the provincial government. Kicking off the GRP report launch, its chair, James
Scongack, was keynote at a luncheon of the Empire Club, one of Canada’s pre-eminent thought-leadership forums. There, he talked about the scope of the energy transition and given its enormity, the importance of focusing resources where they will have greatest effect. Investment in continued performance of existing low-carbon infrastructure that supports the country’s economy today, should be that priority, he told the business audience. “There is nothing from a time perspective, a cost
perspective or from a reliability perspective, that will ever outgrow or be better than moving forward with those existing assets,” he said. “It’s very difficult to build the future without that base secured. We’ve demonstrated the ability to do that… While it’s great to be looking at new opportunities, in terms of prioritising government policy, funding mechanisms, skilled trades, Job 1 is the existing assets.”
Demand for rapid clean capacity expansion Scongack, an executive vice president at Bruce Power, recently led the successful return to service of a major
component replacement project on the first of the Bruce stations’ six units slated for refurbishment between 2020 and 2033 (two of eight Bruce units returned to service in 2012 following refurbishment). The company has also been tapped by the Ontario government to look at adding another 4,800 MW of new nuclear power to Ontario’s grid. Ontario’s other nuclear operator, provincially-owned Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is currently constructing the first of four, first-of-a-kind GE Hitachi 300 MW small modular reactors, while completing its own four-unit refurbishment at the same site. That’s just the start. Ontario has identified the need
to more than double the megawatts of electricity on its provincial grid to 88,000 MW to meet exponential demand for low-carbon electricity between now and 2050. Accounting for replacement generation, the provincial system operator estimates a need for about 69,000 MW in that time, with about a quarter –an additional 17,200 MW – slated to come from nuclear. Provincial support on nuclear has been consistent under
the current government. A few years ago, the realities of climate and economics created an opening for new views on nuclear at the federal level, as well. In a 2023 update to its green bond framework, Canada added nuclear, providing a means to raise capital for both new and existing asset projects, a first for any country. The federal government has come out strong on behalf
of nuclear, providing research funding, tax credits and supportive policy. The 2024 budget called nuclear “one of the key tools in helping the world reach net-zero emissions in 2050,” in just one of an unprecedented 46 mentions nuclear received. The federal government support for the nuclear power
investment tax credits is critical, says Scongack, who says ratepayers benefit directly. “An investment tax credit reduces the capital cost of the project, which flows to the ratepayer and the ratepayer permanently benefits from that. It’s about getting things built but… we know affordability is a significant issue for families and businesses. Investment tax credits are about ensuring people have more affordable electricity, so it can be clean and so we can get things built, but the affordability is critical.” The federal government has also introduced measures such as financing support and loan guarantees to help
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