nuclear-news

Canada’s govt landing tax-payers with unnecessary nuclear power costs

Greens want Ontario nuclear costs reviewed  BY JONATHAN JENKINS    Toronto Sun,  JULY 12, 2012   TORONTO – Ontario’s Green Party is asking for an independent review of all nuclear costs in Ontario.

“Protecting our pocketbooks from nuclear cost overruns is clearly not a priority for the McGuinty government,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said in a news release.

“Every nuclear project in Ontario’s history has gone over budget. It’s an irresponsible waste of our money to pay $26 million for the nuclear industry to study their own costs.”….

Ontario suspended plans to build the two new reactors in 2009 after costs estimate from three companies — Westinghouse, Candu and Areva — came in far above what the government had been expecting.

But now that Bentley is restarting the process by paying Westinghouse and Candu to submit estimates, New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns called the expense “just crazy”.

“Giving people tens of millions of dollars just to prepare a bid on a contract, I just don’t think is reasonable,” Tabuns said. “OPG is a big sophisticated organization with its own staff. They can do their own analysis.”

Ontario now has a surplus of electrical generation and running what it has is very expensive, Tabuns said. Building more nuclear now — even if it’s just to replace aging units at Pickering — risks blowing the budget.

“Why would we go back to a mid-twentieth century technology?” he said.“Whatever they put forward (on cost), double it. If they’re saying $10 to $14 billion, then it’s probably going to be $20 to $30 billion.” http://www.torontosun.com/2012/07/12/greens-want-ontario-nuclear-costs-reviewed

July 13, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, politics