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World Nuclear Electricit​y Generation Down 5 Percent Since 2006 and Canada issues

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

Background:
 
Nuclear power is on the decline worldwide, and is expected
to continue to decline in importance for at least the next
few decades. This week’s report from the Earth Policy
Institute attempts to quantify that decline using figures
from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) —
whose principal mission is to promote the expansion of
nuclear power.
 
The overall trend is unmistakable, but some of the figures
provided by the IAEA are rather misleading. For example,
there is talk of “new additions” of nuclear capacity in
Canada — but in fact there have been no new reactors
ordered in Canada since before the Three Mile Island
accident in 1979. In recent years, two of Canada’s four
Pickering A reactors have been permanently retired and
two of the four Bruce A reactors were shut down for
refurbishment. Those Bruce reactors have now been
restarted, and apparently IAEA considers the restart of
the two reactors as “new additions” to nuclear capacity
in Canada! Meanwhile, the Gentilly-2 reactor is being
permanently retired in Quebec, and the four Pickering B
reactors in Ontario are slated for retirement in 2020.
 
Out of five new reactors that were “committed” in Canada
a few years ago, three of them have been cancelled

completely (two at Bruce and one at Clarington) and 

the others (at Darlington) have been indefinitely postponed
because of the unaffordable price tags. Whether they
will ever be built remains to be seen.
 

Gordon Edwards.


January 20, 2013 - Posted by | Uncategorized

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