The Ford government’s decision to approve the rebuilding of four 40-year-old reactors at Pickering, North America’s third oldest nuclear station, raises lots of questions:
– What’s the total cost? The government won’t say.
– What did it do to look at alternatives? No competitive procurement process, no long-term energy plan, and an IESO assessment report it refuses to release.
– What are the odds this project will be finished on time and on budget? Slim to none.
– Why not opt for solar and wind at one-third the cost? Powerful backroom nuclear interests.
– How will the government recover the $2 billion it is spending to support just stage one of this project if it proves to be uneconomical? No idea.