When people think of energy and Canada, they often think of the Alberta oil sands, the fourth largest oil reserves in the world. While crude petroleum is the country’s largest export, when it comes to electricity generation, Canada is one of the greenest countries in the world. Over two-thirds of electricity generated in the country is from renewable resources, with hydroelectricity making up the vast majority. For a country with 20 percent of the world’s freshwater resources, it’s not hard to see why.
As the world works to meet net-zero by 2035 commitments, PM Trudeau made a pledge at COP this year to phase out conventional coal-fired electricity by 2030. Expanding hydroelectric power could help in this transition, however new hydro dams continue to face opposition at the local levels. While solar is rising in Canada, it will continue to face challenges during the winter months in a country whose southernmost point shares a latitude with Michigan. How else can they close the gap?
Enter nuclear power, the world’s largest source of carbon-free energy. Nuclear reactors provide reliable, clean energy 24/7/365 and pair well with renewables, like wind and solar, to create a cleaner grid.
Nuclear has been a part of the country’s energy mix since the first reactor came online in 1962. Currently 15 percent of Canada’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants, a share that will only grow in the coming years. In early December, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced a partnership with Ontario Power Generation to deploy a small modular reactor (SMR) at its site in Darlington. This will be Canada’s first grid-scale SMR, but it’s not the only new reactor in the works. New Brunswick Power has a partnership with Advanced Reactor Concepts and Moltex Energy Ltd. to develop a 30-megawatt SMR that could run partly on used fuel from U.S. reactors.
In September, Terrestrial Energy announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Saskatoon-based First Nations Power Authority as it pursues an upgraded Integral Molten Salt Reactor design.
SMRs offer a path forward for retired coal plants and their workers by utilizing existing infrastructure to reduce electricity costs and in circumstances where technologies are compatible, lower construction costs. This will be especially helpful in the western province of Alberta, which still relies on coal for over a third of its electricity generation.
SMRs aren’t the only path to expanding nuclear in the country. Bruce Power, a major Canadian nuclear utility, has established a partnership with U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co. to explore deploying a micro reactor.
It will be a challenge to meet Canada’s ambitious climate goals, but new nuclear technologies will deliver carbon-free energy and help hit these targets. Combined with existing nuclear infrastructure, hydro, wind, and solar, the country can set an example for decarbonization for the rest of the world.
As the world works to meet net-zero by 2035 commitments, PM Trudeau made a pledge at COP this year to phase out conventional coal-fired electricity by 2030. Expanding hydroelectric power could help in this transition, however new hydro dams continue to face opposition at the local levels. While solar is rising in Canada, it will continue to face challenges during the winter months in a country whose southernmost point shares a latitude with Michigan. How else can they close the gap?
Enter nuclear power, the world’s largest source of carbon-free energy. Nuclear reactors provide reliable, clean energy 24/7/365 and pair well with renewables, like wind and solar, to create a cleaner grid.
Nuclear has been a part of the country’s energy mix since the first reactor came online in 1962. Currently 15 percent of Canada’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants, a share that will only grow in the coming years. In early December, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced a partnership with Ontario Power Generation to deploy a small modular reactor (SMR) at its site in Darlington. This will be Canada’s first grid-scale SMR, but it’s not the only new reactor in the works. New Brunswick Power has a partnership with Advanced Reactor Concepts and Moltex Energy Ltd. to develop a 30-megawatt SMR that could run partly on used fuel from U.S. reactors.
In September, Terrestrial Energy announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Saskatoon-based First Nations Power Authority as it pursues an upgraded Integral Molten Salt Reactor design.
SMRs offer a path forward for retired coal plants and their workers by utilizing existing infrastructure to reduce electricity costs and in circumstances where technologies are compatible, lower construction costs. This will be especially helpful in the western province of Alberta, which still relies on coal for over a third of its electricity generation.
SMRs aren’t the only path to expanding nuclear in the country. Bruce Power, a major Canadian nuclear utility, has established a partnership with U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co. to explore deploying a micro reactor.
It will be a challenge to meet Canada’s ambitious climate goals, but new nuclear technologies will deliver carbon-free energy and help hit these targets. Combined with existing nuclear infrastructure, hydro, wind, and solar, the country can set an example for decarbonization for the rest of the world.
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