Ontario Construction News staff writer
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has announced up to $50 million for pre-development work to study the feasibility of a new nuclear build on the Bruce Power site.
“Ontario has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world and the nuclear industry is leading the way,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s president and CEO. “This pre-development funding for new nuclear at the Bruce site is a great example of how the federal and provincial governments are working together with the private sector, supporting early Indigenous and community engagement, planning and support for pre-development activities for clean-energy projects that will allow us to meet climate goals to benefit Ontario and all Canadians for the long term.”
Bruce Power is going through a federal Impact Assessment (IA) process as a planning tool to evaluate the potential for an additional 4,800 MW at the Bruce Power site in a project referred to as Bruce C. The multi-year process includes Indigenous and public engagement, environmental and socioeconomic studies, and permitting activities.
Although no decision has been made to advance a new build, funding is an important step to support future electricity planning and allow faster execution if a decision is made to proceed.
“With global business looking to expand in jurisdictions with reliable, affordable and clean electricity, Ontario’s world-class clean electricity grid is helping us land historic investments,” said the Honourable Todd Smith, Ontario’s minister of energy. “New nuclear generation, like the first large-scale nuclear build in a generation at Bruce Power, supported by this investment by the federal government, will ensure we have the reliable, affordable and clean electricity we need to support the next major international investment, the new homes we are building, and industries – like our steel producers – as they grow and electrify.”
Bruce Power operates an eight-unit fleet while completing its Life-Extension Program and Major Component Replacement (MCR) projects to renew Units 3-8 at its Bruce A and B stations. The renewed units will continue to supply clean, reliable energy to Ontario for decades to come.