Prime Minister Carney’s directive to the Major Projects Office to fast-track Doug Ford’s plan to build U.S. nuclear reactors in Ontario will: raise electricity rates, jeopardize national security and delay action on climate change.
New U.S. GE-Hitachi nuclear reactors are the highest-cost option to meet Ontario’s electricity needs – costing 2 to 8 times more than new solar and wind power. As a result, these U.S. reactors will make life less affordable for Ontario’s hard-working families; and they will make Ontario’s industries less competitive.
Building GE-Hitachi reactors will also jeopardize our national security by making Ontario dependent on enriched uranium imports from the U.S. – imports which President Trump could cut off at a moment’s notice.
Finally, building new nuclear reactors is the slowest option to phase-out gas power and protect our climate. Under Doug Ford’s nuclear & gas plan, 25% of our electricity will be produced by burning gas in 2030 – up from only 4% in 2017. To add insult to injury, more than 70% of Ontario’s gas supply is imported from the U.S.
With wildfires burning around the world, we need to invest in the options that can reduce our climate-damaging emissions ASAP, not decades from now. We simply can’t afford to wait 10 to 20 years for new reactors to be built, when solar and wind can be built within months to three years. Combined with batteries, wind and solar can keep our lights on at a fraction of the cost of new nuclear reactors.
Instead of subsidizing the research and development costs for a U.S. multinational’s first-of-their-kind, experimental new nuclear reactors, we should be investing in options that will build a stronger, more prosperous and more secure Canada.
Here is what Prime Minister Carney should do.
1. Rescind his request for the Major Project Office (MPO) to fast-track the building of U.S. nuclear reactors in Ontario.
2. Rescind the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s $970 million loan for the building of GE-Hitachi’s first new nuclear reactor.
3. Direct the MPO to fast-track roof top and parking lot solar in Ontario.
4. Direct the MPO to fast-track cutting the red tape that is blocking the development of Great Lakes offshore wind power.
5. Direct the MPO to fast-track the expansion of the inter-provincial electricity transmission links between Manitoba and Ontario and Ontario and Quebec to increase our ability to import low-cost water, wind and solar power from Manitoba, Quebec and the Maritimes.
Last year, 92.5% of the world’s new electricity generation capacity was renewable, mostly solar and wind. What are Ontario and Canada waiting for?
Tell PM Carney and your MP that it’s time to fast track the projects that will build Canada’s east-west electricity grid and make Canada a renewable energy superpower.