The Premier of Ontario Canada wants to build new nuclear plants - is this is a good idea? Is nuclear a wise use of public resource? I discuss a couple of comparable bell weather projects as data points in the Ontario Nuclear decision.
The windmill not in my backyard group has never lived near wind turbines, we live in the middle of a windfarm and I find it soothing sitting in the early morning watching the steady motion of the turbines. This bird kill idea is a fallacy, you will find more dead birds along the road than under the turbines. A lot of our neighbours were up in arms over turbines 10 years ago just before construction started but now it is a non issue.
Birds - domestic outdoor cats are a grave hazard. Turbines - PEI was funny. People were opposed to turbines in the East Point area - so turbines were located to the North Cape area. Later - the same people in East Point were upset that they did not have turbines (and revenue.) Views evolve - now - large offshore turbines out of sight are an attractive option. And - solar.
In OPGs defence they have already completed refurbishment of 2 units at Darlington. A small modular reactor is going to be built on that site. A better idea than a large nuclear build.
Solar in Ontario generated only 0.5% of the province's electricity in 2022. Wind generated 9.4%. It is unreasonable to expect solar generation to increase sufficiently to meet future demands. You are making the mistake of using "capacity" to measure solar and wind despite their output being intermittent. Look instead at the amount generated per year from each source. Ontario certainly should try to increase its solar and wind production but it is important to realize there is some political pushback against these sources due to farmland reduction and some people not liking the look of turbines. Every jurisdiction has its own grid and needs to make its own decisions on how best to source its power. For Ontario, nuclear makes sense due to our long history of safe operation and mature supply chain and workforce. Blunders elsewhere in the world do not change that.
