nuclear-news

Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) a ‘black hole’ for investment

we can build a “virtual” nuclear power plant by eliminating wasteful energy use at less than one-fifth the cost of a real one…..we have a huge array of cheaper options that don’t come with that all that nasty baggage of million-year-active radioactive waste and being a giant bull’s eye for terrorists.

Used nuclear company is no bargain – thestar.com, Jack Gibbons, 24 Jan 2011, Hey buddy, want to buy a used nuclear company? Sure, there’s a huge pile of debt under the hood and nobody will buy its products without massive taxpayer handouts, but there might be a few miles left in fixing crumbling reactors in Ontario and if it could ever get that New Brunswick job finished that would be one less anchor tied to the back bumper

SNC Lavalin, the engineering and construction giant, and Bruce Power have both kicked the tires and decided to pass on the idea of buying Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL). But that hasn’t stopped Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid from asking taxpayers all across Canada to pony up for AECL so Ontario can build more high-cost nuclear generating stations.

If I were a taxpayer in B.C. or Newfoundland, I would not be racing to get a cheque in the mail to Ontario. But if I were a taxpayer in Quebec or Manitoba, I probably would drop Ontario a line, pointing out that my province has lots of low-cost hydro power it would be happy to sell my neighbour at less than a third of the price of new nuclear……………..

But, in reality, I am a taxpayer in Ontario, so I am going to point out to Minister Duguid that he can help all of us use electricity more efficiently and help reduce our electricity bills at a cost that is even cheaper than importing water power. We know from Ontario Power Authority spending figures that we can reduce electricity usage at a cost of under 4 cents per kWh. So we can build a “virtual” nuclear power plant by eliminating wasteful energy use at less than one-fifth the cost of a real one.

Still think we should slosh billions more dollars into the AECL black hole? Before we do that, why don’t we make better use of that natural gas we’re importing from our friends in Alberta? Right now, we burn natural gas just to heat our buildings, when we could be simultaneously using it to heat our buildings and keep the lights on by using highly efficient combined heat and power (CHP) systems. ………..Sometimes, it seems like our politicians are intent on dragging our electricity system back to the 1950s, when now laughable claims about “too cheap to meter” nuclear power were all the rage. Nostalgia is one thing, but the reality is that we have a huge array of cheaper options that don’t come with that all that nasty baggage of million-year-active radioactive waste and being a giant bull’s eye for terrorists.

Used nuclear company is no bargain – thestar.com

January 25, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general