Ontario Premier Doug Ford has given the green light for the construction of a mini nuclear reactor on the north shore of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto. It’s the first of four such reactors to be built at a cost of more than 20 billion Canadian dollars.
The small modular reactor will be built at Darlington, east of Toronto, and neighboring the Darlington nuclear plant. The scheduled completion is expected to be in 2030.
Ontario’s energy minister, Steven Lecce, said energy demand is increasing dramatically in the province, and this is an example of what many industrialized countries have referred to as nation-building projects.
“Ontario needs more power. I think we understand this problem today. When you turn the lights on in your living room, you may not think about where that power comes from. But ensuring that we have reliable affordable energy is essential to the economic sovereignty of our province and country,” Lecce said. “By 2050, that’s just 25 years away, we’ll need 75 percent more power. That’s the equivalent of adding four and a half times the city of Toronto to the grid.”
Lecce said the construction will create 18,000 jobs, and with the ability to power 1.2 million homes once all four are complete – puts Ontario on the map as a nuclear player.
Small Modular Reactors or SMR’s are smaller than traditional nuclear plants, even though they are based on the same science. Experts say they are basically shrunken-down technology but have many of the same principles. The modular plant is called the BWRX-300 designed by American-based G-E Hitachi Nuclear Energy.
Nonprofit groups say a lot of governments are watching to see how the project goes, both from the feasibility and benefits perspective.
However, one group called Swim Drink Fish says the chosen site is too small to fit the new reactors, even SMR’s with cooling towers.
