Our region and much of western Canada has been experiencing drought conditions for the past few years, leading to historic wildfire seasons and rivers throughout northern B.C. at generational lows, causing strain on our natural ecosystems as well threatening our hydroelectric output. As our demand for electricity grows, so does our need for generating capacity. Potential projects, such as the proposed Summit Lake LNG facility, along with hydrogen production, expanded mining and other heavy industry will add to demand, as the energy required to power these existing and proposed projects is immense.
As we look to the future, what will our energy mix look like? Natural gas electricity plants have the ability to generate gigawatts, but the tradeoffs are emissions, coupled with the fact that natural gas is finite and prices fluctuate according to market conditions; moreover, we can look east to Alberta and south to Texas to find evidence that given the right weather conditions, they can fail. Wind and solar are options, but they don’t provide stable, baseline production.
A nuclear generating facility, built in our region, would square many of these circles, providing energy to homes and businesses with stable, predictable outputs and no greenhouse gases. As our forestry industry shrinks throughout the region, the construction and ongoing production jobs a nuclear facility would create would more than offset the losses the forestry sector has experienced over the past few years.
Looking further east to Bruce County, situated in southwestern Ontario, is Bruce Power, Canada’s largest nuclear power plant. A quick glance at the output of Bruce Power shows that it produces just over 48,000 gigawatt hours per year. The entirety of BC Hydro’s hydroelectric network throughout the province is 43,000 gigawatt hours per year. It produces around 30 per cent of Ontario’s electricity at roughly 30 per cent of the market rate of all other means of production combined. Nuclear doesn’t fail in the winter, and its profitability isn’t affected by market conditions of its inputs, such as fluctuating natural gas prices. The median household income of Saugeen Shores, Ont., situated just north of Bruce Power, is $103,000 per year, mostly due to many of its residents working for Bruce Power, or one of the dozens of suppliers and contractors that operate in its vicinity.
We have a skilled workforce in Prince George and throughout our region, as is evidenced by the energy projects that have been completed over the past few years, such as Kitimat LNG and the Site C dam. We also have two post-secondary institutions, capable of pivoting away from industries on the decline and ensuring a stable, educated workforce for operating a nuclear facility. As a country, we also have an abundant supply of uranium.
Looking toward the future, we need more electricity. We also need to ensure that we produce it in a way that protects our rivers and waterways and doesn’t add greenhouse emissions. As market forces shutter once profitable sectors in our economy, such as forestry, we also need jobs – good-paying, family supporting jobs. Nuclear power ticks all of those boxes.
