A positive step for environment

 

Province hungry for power from Bruce

Sept. 9.

It was with a great deal of excitement I read that Dalton McGuinty's government is taking yet another positive step to save the environment. If it manages to succesfully implement the Bruce project, it will certainly make its goal of eliminating coal-fired plants a little more feasible. Combined with the Pickering A restarts and the new tunnel to the Beck hydro-electric site, it looks like there are clean air days ahead for Ontario.

One misleading fact about the story comes with the price. It is indisputable that the restart would be heavy on capital costs, but it ignores the long-term effect the relatively neglible fuelling cost has.

A study released last week, shows that for Ontario a new nuclear plant is competitive with coal on a price basis. Bruce has a head start because it is already built, making it that much cheaper.

Canada's 17 operating nuclear reactors prevent the release of more than 6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas and other air pollutants every single month. They do so reliably, on a large scale, and most importantly they do it safely. They are an essential tool as we move into a clean-air future.

Andrew Daley, Hamilton, Ont.