Opinion: Canada needs to go nuclear to reach our emissions targets

Authored by financialpost.com and submitted by SchnateYT
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To fight climate change, Canada needs clean energy from a source that delivers carbon-free, reliable power 24/7. If we are to reach our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, nuclear power simply must be in the energy mix. Nuclear power already displaces over 80 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually in Canada. That’s equivalent to taking 15 million cars off the road each and every year.

Though Canada has a world-class nuclear industry, we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. Traditional nuclear has a number of advantages but “new nuclear” — specifically small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) — has the potential to generate consistent, clean, safe electricity in tandem with, and in most cases more reliably than, renewables. It could help cut GHG emissions in the oil and gas sector and also produce hydrogen, which may be the clean fuel of the future.

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SMRs are fission reactors built at a smaller size and in larger numbers than most of the world’s existing nuclear fleet. They are what today’s phone or laptop is to the mainframe computer of decades ago. They can be mass-produced and shipped to remote, off-grid locations to produce clean energy. They have enhanced safety features and can replace diesel power generation in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. They can also have a major impact by providing power for large-scale mining sites and by reducing emissions in oil and gas production in operations like the Alberta oilsands.

foodfighter on August 18th, 2020 at 16:53 UTC »

IMHO, one of the worst (unintentional) things that Greenpeace ever did was to fan the flames of the anti-nuclear movement.

All those years of relative lack-of-investment in nuclear R&D while we kept buring fossil fuel and heating up the planet.

No energy solution is ever perfect, but nuclear has a lot of pros that simply can not be overlooked given our current state of affairs.

ronm4c on August 18th, 2020 at 14:46 UTC »

The industry needs to educate people about nuclear power. Most people get their education on the subject from people who are ill informed.

Judging the nuclear industry based only on the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters is like judging the airline industry based only on the events of 9/11, its intellectually lazy and does a disservice to the conversation.

This industry is the most regulated industry in the world, and it should be. You are dealing with vast amounts of energy contained In systems that are over designed because of the hazards involved. It is not some Wild West where companies get to bend the rules whenever they want.

captjust on August 18th, 2020 at 14:43 UTC »

Well that certainly is a CANDU attitude!