The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the outcomes of more large and small nuclear reactors in Canada are lower greenhouse-gas emissions, more predictable and affordable power supply, and major economic benefits in terms of jobs and manufacturing -- more than 70 per cent of the parts and materials for the new SMR (small modular reactor) will be sourced in Ontario.
The Globe's guest columnist John Gorman writes that these potential economic outcomes are also starting to drive private investment. Brookfield Asset Management's renewable company and Cameco's Westinghouse Electric deal is not the only example. There was an oversubscription to the nuclear green bonds issued last year by Bruce Power, and this summer by Ontario Power Generation.
Yet nuclear remains at a disadvantage. In Canada, solar and wind are eligible for a range of financial incentives not available to nuclear. Even carbon capture and storage gets preferential treatment.
The most glaring example of this imbalance was the explicit exclusion of nuclear power from Canada's Green Bond Framework. This
exclusion is actively preventing the industry from tapping into a significant private appetite for investment into the sector.
© 2023 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.