Blackout demonstrates need for nuclear revival
Toronto Star OPINION, Tuesday, August 26, 2003, p. A21
Robert Van Adel and David Torgerson

Recent events have given rise to a unique challenge for every policy-maker, citizen and user of electricity in the province of Ontario and, indeed, the entire country. Apart from the grid, if we don't add more baseload capacity to existing electrical generation supply, further blackouts are a certainty.

We share the concerns of those who have suffered through this recent blackout and who helped to conserve energy while we waited for the return of full power in Ontario.

Contrary to some reports, it was the availability of nuclear power that allowed Ontario's lights to start coming back on as soon as it did. In fact, four of the largest CANDU units in the province were the first nuclear units in the affected area to reconnect to the grid, six hours after the blackout started and more than two days before the first U.S.-based plants were reconnected.

Furthermore, last week Ontario's nuclear capacity returned at a rate comparable to the United States overall and, in some cases, almost 10 per cent faster than affected states in the U.S.

The aftermath of the blackout has also given rise to outbursts from those who are opposed to power generation from nuclear plants.

In fact, the events triggering the blackout resulted from failures in the electricity transmission system and had nothing to do with the existence of nuclear plants.

For more than 30 years CANDU nuclear plants have been, and continue to be, the workhorses of the electricity system in Ontario, New Brunswick and other countries.

The need for nuclear power is evidently top of the mind to many Canadians, especially because there is great public pressure to shut down coal-fired plants; environmental issues plague the building of new hydro plants; natural gas prices are volatile and make less economic sense; and renewable sources of generation can only contribute a small part to the solution.

A recent Environics poll determined that the majority of Canadians support nuclear power.

In Canada, the generation of nuclear power is synonymous with CANDU technology and it contributes effectively to electrical supply in many other countries.

The recent successful completion of two CANDU nuclear units in Qinshan, China is a prime example. These units, built ahead of schedule and on budget, add 1,400 megawatts to China's national grid.

The CANDU reactor was originally designed and built in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the solution to meet Ontario's growing electricity demands.

Over the years, the continually improving CANDU nuclear power plant design has earned an international reputation for its exceptional performance, safety and economic features.

Today, a total of 34 CANDU nuclear power plants are either in operation or under construction worldwide. The benefit to the Canadian economy is in the billions of dollars and the creation of thousands of jobs for highly skilled workers.

Moreover, the performance and safety levels of the CANDU fleet have made it a reliable source of energy for decades.

Nuclear power has already proven its worth.

The blackout, if anything, demonstrates the need for more baseload electrical supply to secure Ontario's future.

Moreover, public and business expectations for environmentally sustainable, safer, more secure and cost competitive sources of energy have prompted Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and its partners to develop its Advanced CANDU Reactor or ACR, soon to be ready for market.

The ACR retains the proven safety features of the CANDU technology and incorporates further enhancements to achieve competitiveness- against other sources of generation- through shorter construction times and lower capital costs.

Policy-makers, however, should not leave our future energy security to the fluctuations of volatile fuel markets alone.

The United States, for example, has accepted the challenge to increase reliable long-term electricity supply by considering more nuclear power plants.

In fact, recent policy proposals in the U.S. suggest that incentives for nuclear power and other generation will be part of any energy bill that comes from Congress- recognizing the need for political leadership in energy planning.

Ontario's CANDU units helped bring back power after the blackout doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Action is needed now to maintain and add capacity- including nuclear- to the system to ensure that the lights stay on.

Robert Van Adel is president and CEO of Atomic Energy of Canada. David Torgerson is AECL's senior vice president of technology and a leader in CANDU design, science and engineering.