The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that in June, Ottawa committed to building 10 large nuclear reactors, aiming for a modernized, cost-competitive Candu by 2030, with plans to enter four new export markets by 2040. The Globe's guest columnist Eugene Lang writes, however, that Ottawa should abandon development of new Candu reactors.
The global nuclear power market has evolved, leaving Candu well outside the mainstream. Candu cannot fully benefit from the shared learning and global supply chains developing around light-water pressured reactors.
Worse, the Candu design carries inherent disadvantages.
Darlington's small nuclear reactor (SMR) is the only one under construction in the G7, so the project is building Canada a whole set of new skills. Furthermore, Canadian firms Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco now own Westinghouse, whose AP1000 reactor is among the world's safest modern designs.
On the other hand, what do we get for continuing Candu? Ottawa lent Atkinsrealis Group up to $304-million to revise the Candu design. But the best case is a few sales that we would help finance. There is no credible case for an advanced Candu design taking a growing share of the global nuclear power market.
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