Trudeau government’s $1B nuclear reactor investment shows the political bargains that have to be made – by Heather Scoffield (Toronto Star – October 25, 2022)

https://www.thestar.com/

Ottawa is going nuclear in a big way, putting almost $1 billion into building a new reactor at Darlington, near Toronto. It’s a move that has been years in the making and comes with plenty of controversy — as well as prospects to test a new low-emissions technology to generate electricity, and enough power for 300,000 homes.

It’s the latest sign that Canada’s climate change commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 will have to be a voyage full of political compromise and big bucks that come not just from government but from the private sector.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank will announce on Tuesday that it is lending Ontario Power Generation a total of $970 million to prepare the ground for Canada’s first small modular reactor, with the goal of having it up and running by 2029.

It’s the federal financing facility’s first foray into nuclear, one of its biggest investments since the bank began operations four years ago — and meant to signal a turning point.

For the rest of this article: https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2022/10/25/trudeau-governments-1b-nuclear-reactor-investment-shows-the-political-bargains-that-have-to-be-made.html