lilley: ford government's nuclear push to send nuclear power to the moon
the moves come as part of an expected surge for electricity demand in ontario over the coming years
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nuclear energy is undergoing a bit of a renaissance in ontario as the ford government looks to expand the energy source for the first time in decades. it’s even spurring a push by the private sector to build out on an energy source that is getting a second look. the moves by the ford government come as part of an expected surge for electricity demand in the province over the coming years. it’s coupled with a desire by the premier to turn ontario into an energy powerhouse that exports green energy across north america.
over the past several months, the province has announced a massive procurement for new energy sources, promoted the continuing use of the pickering and darlington nuclear generating stations, introduced legislation that prioritizes nuclear energy. the province also suggested that former coal plants in nanticoke and lambton, plus a site in wellesleyville owned by ontario power generation, could be used for the site of new nuclear power plants.
since at least 2019, ontario premier doug ford has been promoting the use of small modular reactors, a new technology with great promise, as a way to move energy into remote areas. they could also be used to add additional capacity for domestic use and export to the united states.
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“energy policy will be fundamental to the future of our province and ontario has a choice: a pro-growth agenda that attracts investments, creates jobs and keeps energy costs down for people and businesses, or ideological dogma that offers false choices,” ford said in a mid-october speech to the empire club.
since being appointed minister of energy and electrification, stephen lecce has been pushing the idea of nuclear as a key anchor.
“to meet soaring energy demands, we’re working with communities to plan ahead and build for our future so that we can generate more power that is reliable and affordable for our families today and tomorrow,” lecce said last week.
the independent electricity system operator has predicted that the province will see an increase in demand of by 75% by 2050. to meet that demand, which is driven by an increase in population and industries such as artificial intelligence and server farms — as well as an expected increase in the use of electric vehicles — the province will need to increase production capacity.
while once ontario fully embraced nuclear, a new plant hasn’t been commissioned in ontario since 1985. a combination of opposition from environmental groups and fear after the chernobyl disaster in 1987 made nuclear unpalatable for many years.
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now, the ford government is putting nuclear forward as a clean and green alternative.
all of this activity from the ford government has led to interest from the private sector in exploring nuclear reactors. a toronto-based company, canadian space mining corporation (csmc), announced a deal with canadian nuclear laboratories to try to commercialize the slowpoke nuclear reactor technology first developed by the federal government in the 1960s.
the plan is to not only use the technology for domestic uses but to try to deploy a small nuclear reactor to the moon.
“we are confident in our ability to deploy the world’s first reactor on the moon, contributing to international space exploration as part of nasa’s artemis missions,” said daniel sax, ceo of csmc.
“at the same time, we see immense potential for commercializing this technology here on earth, offering a sustainable and reliable energy solution to replace diesel generators in remote and indigenous communities across the arctic.”
while nuclear energy provides more than half of ontario electrical energy supplies, plus much needed medical isotopes, the industry was on its way out. there were plans to decommission pickering that were moving ahead until the ford government changed course.
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one thing is clear, that plan to change course has kicked off a rebirth for nuclear that no one would have seen coming five years ago.
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