Nuke Proposal Wrongheaded
TORONTO, ON - Ontario will be heading in the wrong direction if
recommendations to build more nuclear plants in the province are adopted,
says Green Party of Ontario leader Frank de Jong.
"The recommendation of the Manley report on Ontario Power Generation that
proposes more nuclear power plants is a giant step backward," says de Jong.
"The only reason nuclear power ever had a hope of being economical without
cost overruns" de Jong adds, "is because the Nuclear Liability Act reduced
the liability of operators to $75 million per reactor. Without open-ended
taxpayer subsidy, private insurers won't touch this risk. Citizens and
taxpayers shouldn't have to either."
De Jong notes that the cost overruns, the shutdowns, and the long lead times
for construction of nuclear reactors have meant that conservation,
efficiency and renewables would have been cheaper as well as cleaner and
safer - and the contrast will be even sharper in the future.
"We have to accept that clean safe power will cost more, especially as the
supply of fossil fuels declines," de Jong says. "This is just one reason we
must use electricity much more efficiently."
GPO energy critic Doug Woodard points out that real time display of price,
supply, and cost could have a tremendous beneficial impact if installed in
each household and business along with higher prices for peak periods and
reduced rates for times of low demand.
"We need to make it profitable for suppliers to help consumers invest to
save electricity - now, not in 2005," Woodward says. "We need an
'electricity feed law' for renewables, like systems used in Denmark where 20
percent of the electricity comes from wind power, and Germany, which has
more installed wind power capacity than any other country.
"We need to start now to pay suppliers of renewable electricity the
full-avoided health and environmental costs of burning fossil fuels, with an
eye to their inevitably higher prices in the future. This will make wind
power profitable in Ontario and will bring a rapid increase in supply," says
Woodward.
"Those are the basics," adds de Jong, "they're simple. The government of
Ontario needs to stop dithering, pick up that ball, and run with it."
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The Green Party of Ontario has a comprehensive plan to protect people's
long-term interests and preserve the environment that sustains our lives and
our economy. Practical solutions grounded by shared values is what Green
politics is all about. For more information visit www.greenparty.on.ca.
To contact the Green Party of Ontario: 416-929-2397, [email protected]
October 17, 2005
TORONTO -- A plan to restore two idled nuclear units may help
ensure Ontario's long-term energy supply, but a deal between the
province and Bruce Power could force taxpayers to help cover
hundreds of millions of dollars in potential cost overruns,
critics say.
Bruce, Ontario's largest independent electricity generator,
confirmed Monday it plans to spend $4.25 billion to refurbish
four units at its nuclear generating station off the shores of
Lake Huron. That includes $2.75 billion to restore Units 1 and 2,
which have been down since the mid-1990s. One of those two units
is expected to return to service in 2009.
About $1.5 billion will be spent on a refurbishment of Unit 3,
and $350 million to replace a steam generator on Unit 4.
The capital cost for the refurbishments will be covered by Bruce,
not taxpayers, said Energy Minister Donna Cansfield.
However, according to TransCanada Corp., a major Bruce investor,
a "risk and reward sharing schedule'' puts Ontario on the hook
for 50 per cent of cost overruns of up to $618 million on the
project and a 25 per cent share beyond that.
"If this nuclear deal at the Bruce goes over budget _ and nuclear
projects always go over budget than hydro consumers will have to
pick up half the cost overrun,'' said New Democrat Leader Howard
Hampton.
The cost to build the province's controversial Darlington nuclear
station nearly tripled during the 1980s to $14 billion, and
Ontario Power Generation's efforts to restore Unit 4 at the
Pickering A facility cost $1.25 billion, almost three times the
original projected cost.
The Ontario government will also cut leasing costs for Bruce by
$60 million a year _ worth $1.2 billion over 20 years.
Premier Dalton McGuinty noted that Ontario taxpayers were stuck
with all the extra costs at Pickering and Darlington, but their
risk is narrowed in half under its deal with Bruce.
"In an ideal world, we would have loved to have been able to
shift 100 per cent of the cost overruns,'' McGuinty said.
The private sector is taking on the bulk of the investment risk,
Cansfield noted. "They've taken the risk of putting $4.25 billion
of their money into Bruce.''
The refurbishments will boost Bruce's total nuclear contribution
in Ontario to 6,200 megawatts, enough to power about 25 per cent
of the province on a typical day.
The plan is designed to help address potential shortages of
electricity. The province needs to fix or replace some 25,000
megawatts of electricity generation by 2020.
Hampton called the Bruce agreement a ``sweetheart'' deal that
allows private investors to profit without concern for consumers
or nuclear waste storage.
"This is private nuclear ... companies who will potentially put
profit ahead of public safety and public interests concerns.''
Opposition critics, however, warned the refurbishments may not
alleviate Ontario's short-term energy supply concerns in any
event.
Conservative energy critic John Yakabuski said electricity supply
isn't increasing fast enough to keep up with demand, which is
rising some 200 megawatts per year.
"By the time this (Bruce) work is completed, we would have eaten
up 1,000 of those 1,500 megawatts that this project is supposed
to provide,'' Yakabuski said.
Units 3 and 4 will also have to be taken out of service for their
upgrades after Units 1 and 2 are back online, Hampton added.
Deputy energy minister James Gillis said all four units won't be
online simultaneously until 2011 or 2012.
Hampton also warned there's a risk hydro bills will spike due to
the Bruce deal.
The power produced by the refurbished units will earn Bruce 6.3
cents per kilowatt-hour. That's below average electricity costs
this year of 6.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, but well above the 4.9
cents per kWh Ontario Power Generation received for its nuclear
power this summer.
Hampton said the higher rate means Bruce stands to earn a 33 per
cent profit and will establish "a new base rate'' for all nuclear
power that will factored into future electricity rate hikes paid
by consumers.
"This is very, very expensive power,'' Hampton said.
Bruce has hired AMEC, a project management and services firm, to
manage the project and keep costs under control. AMEC is
investing a half-billion dollars of its own money, a company
spokesman said.