BRUCE COUNTY, Ont. — Environmental assessment and community consultations will get underway soon as Ontario begins a feasibility study for a large expansion at the site of the Bruce nuclear generating station.
According to the government, the plant is currently the largest operating nuclear generating station in the world, with a capacity of 6,550 MW of electricity.
The environmental assessment to be conducted by Bruce Power — the company that operates the plant — will determine the feasibility of adding 4,800 megawatts of new nuclear generation at the site.
It's expected that it will take several years to complete the assessments and consultations required to meet federal government requirements before an expansion could proceed.
Permission from Ottawa is just one of multiple steps in a comprehensive process for approving and building new nuclear power projects which may take a decade or longer to complete.
If it goes ahead, the Bruce expansion project will be Ontario's first large-scale nuclear build in over three decades.
Electricity demand in the province is rising for the first time since 2005.
The Independent Electricity System Operator has already recommended that Ontario begin planning, siting and environmental assessment work for new generating capacity, including nuclear power, to meet increasing demand in the 2030s and beyond.
Nuclear power currently provides about half of the province's electricity supply.
IESO has forecast that Ontario may need to more than double its generating capacity by 2050.
The province is also looking at the feasibility of developing new hydro power projects in Northern Ontario, including on the Little Jackfish River north of Lake Nipigon.
While Ontario considers its options for increasing its generating capacity, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization continues to plan for the construction of an underground repository to store used nuclear fuel in either the South Bruce area or a location near Ignace.
The organization intends to make a decision in 2024, but has said that no material would be shipped to the storage site for another 20 years.
A vocal group of opponents continues to lobby against transporting used nuclear fuel bundles to Northwestern Ontario.
