Ontario to okay re-opening of reactors: sourcOct. 13, 2005. 05:40 PM
J.P. MOCZULSKI/CP FILE
The Bruce Power nuclear generating station lies at a scenic spot on Lake Huron near Kincardine.
Ontario to okay re-opening of reactors: sources
Two units at the Bruce station have been idle since the mid-90s
Two Ontario nuclear power units that have been idle since the mid-1990s will be refurbished now that the province has given final approval, sources said today.
The Ontario government will announce next week it has approved a deal to restart Units 1 and 2 of the Bruce generation station near Kincardine off Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario, sources told The Canadian Press.
It will cost Bruce Power, which runs the station, “well more” than $2 billion for the restart, one source said.
A tentative deal between the two sides on the restart was reached in March. Final cabinet approval was delayed, however, as the province and Bruce Power worked out how much Bruce will be paid for the power the units produce following the refurbishment.
Bruce Power spokesman Steve Cannon said the public “will be properly notified” when a final deal is approved.
And Donna Cansfield, who replaced Dwight Duncan this week as energy minister in an abrupt cabinet shuffle, said “due diligence” and legal wording of the Bruce deal is still being worked out.
But sources insist an announcement is imminent.
Their restoration would return 1,500 megawatts of electricity to Ontario’s power grid — enough to meet the annual needs of one million homes.
However, any refurbishment of the two units at Bruce station, which has six other units currently in operation, would take several years to complete at a time when debates are raging about Ontario’s future energy supply.
New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton slammed the plan to invest in “more expensive” nuclear power, which already supplies 45 per cent of Ontario’s energy, noting past cost overruns of refurbishments.
“The reason we have a $20-billion debt in our nuclear system is because of cost overruns at our nuclear plants,” he told reporters.
“I think before the province goes down the nuclear road, again, there needs to be a full debate across the province.”
Conservative Leader John Tory said he’s in favour of the refurbishment but is concerned the contract with Bruce will force taxpayers to eventually foot the bill for the upgrade through whatever rates Bruce signs with the province.
“I would want to see the deal that has been done between Bruce and the taxpayers of Ontario before I said yes to that particular deal,” Tory said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said his government is working to address potential energy shortages. He slammed previous governments for not making earlier investments.
“We are up against it when it comes to ensuring sufficient supply .x .x . it would have been nice had this work begun some 10 or 15 years ago,” McGuinty told the legislature.
The province has to replace, renew or refurbish some 25,000 megawatts of supply in the next 15 years. The government says it has advanced projects to provide another 9,000 megawatts over the next five years.
Critics say that won’t be enough to replace closed coal units, and that nuclear reactors take years to come online. McGuinty has said he’ll look to build more nuclear reactors should the Ontario Power Authority recommend that approach in a Dec. 1 report.
Greenpeace is concerned there hasn’t been enough public nuclear debate and plans to stage a protest Friday in front of the Ontario legislature.
Dwight Duncan, the province’s energy minister before he was appointed finance minister this week, said in March that restarting the two idle Bruce units would replace about 20 per cent of the province’s coal-fired generation.
The government wants to close all of its coal-fired plants by 2009.
Harv
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