
By Bill Caswell
Special to Ontario Construction News
Nuclear energy is the clear answer to the energy-created pollution crisis, yet it barely gets a mention in the energy conversion dialogue. In this jurisdiction, Ontario, one of the top1 world jurisdictions, a crisis is scheduled to fall on us in 2024 only 1-1/2 years away. What do you as a leader need to know and what can you do about it?
Two simple facts
One: Nuclear energy is the safest form of energy available โ even safer than solar energy sources.
Two: The carbon content of nuclear power emissions is among the lowest available, less than solar.
Fact One: Safety
While stories of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima made headlines, it was journalists who created the headlines, not fact finders.ย Here is the list of deaths incurred per unit of energy created, found with a simple search of Google.
Energy Sourceย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Coal
Oil
Biofuel/biomass
Peat
Natural Gas
Solar (rooftop)
Wind
Hydro
Nuclear
Death Rate Terawatt-hour of Energy
161
36
12
12
4
.44 (falling off the roof shovelling snow)
.15
.10
.04
Fact Two: Emissions
Another Google search yields the following information.
Energy Sourceย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Coal
Oil
Peat
Natural gas
Solar (rooftop) (gas backup2
Wind (gas backup)2
Geothermal
Biofuel/biomass
Nuclear
Tidal
Hydro
CO2 Emissions per Kilowatt-hour of Energy
1001
840
730
469
385
45
18
16
8
4
Two current dilemmas
Dilemma one
Ontarioโs source of electricity currently is more or less as follows:
Nuclear
Hydro
Wind backed up by gas
Natural gas
Solar
Bioenergy
Other
58%
24%
8.4%
6.0%
2.4%
0.5%
0.7%
Nuclear, the current main source of energy for Ontario, is about to lose one of its key nuclear stations, Pickering, which is slated for decommissioning in 2024 after 47 years of faithful service (including the highest safety ratings possible).
No public plans for its replacement have been mentioned. The options are to refurbish it to last another few decades, build a new nuclear station, or shut Pickering down. Since it takes 10 years to build a new station, that is not a viable option to see us through 2024. That leaves us with the refurbishing option or finding another source of energy.
Currently, publicly available advocacy is for having gas as a replacement. As well, there is a loud anti-nuclear message, not to mention an almost ear-breaking sound about decommissioning nuclear stations. Yet, replacing Pickering with a gas option goes counter to Ontarioโs green energy objectives.
Solar, wind, and biomass replacements simply are not practical from an ability to build in time, from a financial view and from amount-of-power-delivery perspective. More hydro is simply not available.
What logical people need to do is to express a concern so that politicians will bring this topic onto their agendas, carefully weigh the options, and then take bold action.
Dilemma two
Electric cars, electric trucks, electric buses, and electric trains are on everyoneโs mind. They are technically feasible today โ all of them in actual operation. But what just of cars? To make all Ontarioโs cars electric we would need 5,000 mw of power โ a new nuclear station on top of, and equal to, Pickering.
Now if we want to electrify hot water heating across the province, perhaps we will need to add another 1,000 mw of power.
Of course, ideally, we want to electrify home heating and air conditioning. Add, I suppose, another 2,000 mw of power. Have we stumbled onto the need for yet another Darlington?
If I am counting properly, we are up to three new nuclear stations: Renewal of Pickering plus two more. The chance of renewable sources making up for these needs (even if we agree fully on the value of renewables) is a technical pipe dream.
Which politicians are giving any of these concerns serious consideration?
Logical citizens, especially business leaders, need to ask politicians to bring these topics too onto their agendas. They must carefully weigh the options but there are not very many. Logic seems to point to nuclear โ safer, more technically viable, cleaner, and currently proven reliable โ as the lone viability. Why are we still waiting for key people to get into the conversation?
Bill Caswell leads the Caswell Corporate Coaching Company (CCCC) in Ottawa, www.caswellccc.com or email bi**@ca********.com.
1 Ontarioโs GDP per capita exceeds that of NJ, Shanghai, Greater London, and Massachusetts.
2 When the sun doesnโt shine or the wind doesnโt blow, the demand for electricity doesnโt stop.ย Gas power plants usually are at the ready to take over; thus, they are in continuous low mode of operation (costing dollars as well as emissions). Then gas is called upon for full power (costing even more dollars and more emissions).