‘Long-term play’: Ottawa bets on mini nuclear as it targets net-zero carbon in 2050
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He said governments and companies in the United States, China, United Kingdom, France and South Korea are all researching and developing mini-nuclear reactors.
“They are making those steps now, this is a very competitive space now, and if we don’t move on it now then we lose out,” O’Regan said.
This is a very competitive space now, and if we don’t move on it now then we lose out
Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan
The federal government believes there’s an opportunity to deploy SMRs in remote locations, including in the territories, where diesel generators continue to be a major part of the electricity mix and a large source of emissions in the region.
Friday’s action plan enshrines nuclear energy as a key part of the Liberal’s desire to reduce emissions and transition the country’s electricity mix away from carbon-based energy, but it will face some opposition from the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois, which favour energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Nuclear energy does not emit carbon, but it creates waste in the form of used uranium, which is part of the reason it is opposed by green groups despite its ability to provide carbon-free baseload electricity generation.
