NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. (CP) -
Billions of dollars will be spent to build new nuclear plants in
Ontario if a review of the province's tight energy supply concludes
they're necessary, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday.
In providing his strongest indication yet that he might look to
nuclear energy to meet Ontario's long-term electricity supply
concerns, McGuinty said he's prepared to agree on construction of
multibillion-dollar nuclear plants if that's what it takes to quench
the province's increasing thirst for energy.
The premier said he's awaiting a Dec. 1 report from the newly
created Ontario Power Authority, which is reviewing what needs to be
done to address concerns about the province's energy supply.
"Should the OPA recommend nuclear as being an indispensable part
of a diverse supply of electricity, then we will build new nuclear
in this province," McGuinty said.
McGuinty was speaking from Niagara Falls, where he attended a
ground-breaking ceremony for Ontario Power Generation's construction
of a 10-kilometre tunnel. The tunnel will divert more hydroelectric
power from the waters around Canada's honeymoon capital to a power
station further up the Niagara River.
The premier said it's an example of how the government is
addressing concerns about the energy supply in the short-term,
especially in light of extreme heat in Ontario this summer.
But he said that over the longer term, larger projects will be
needed, even if it means expanding the use of controversial nuclear
energy.
Proponents of nuclear power say it's the cleanest and safest way
to add significant power to the province's electricity system.
Critics say nuclear plants cost billions of dollars to construct,
take 10 years or more to build and raise environmental concerns
about radioactive waste.
The Toronto Environmental Alliance said it was "appalled" to hear
McGuinty open the door to more nuclear plants, which it warned would
leave a huge financial and environmental debt.
"We're very concerned because the (electricity) system is still
very much in the hands of the people who built our last nuclear
plants, and got us into the mess we're in today," said alliance
spokesman Keith Stewart.
"The McGuinty government should not be repeating the mistakes of
the previous provincial government, which put us massively in debt,
and left us with nuclear plants that don't work very well and we're
all paying for right now."
Even after the OPA report is completed, Energy Minister Dwight
Duncan noted that months of review will be necessary before the
province gives the go-ahead to any nuclear projects.
"There are going to be a series of other questions after (the
report is released), starting with private versus public, starting
with OPG's role, and then doing all the calculations and arithmetic
around what projects would and wouldn't be feasible," Duncan said.
The Conservatives and New Democrats said McGuinty is taking too
long to make up his mind on an energy strategy two years into his
mandate.
"They don't seem to have a plan for replacing the generation that
they've committed to shutting down," Tory energy critic John
Yakabuski said, referring to the premier's promise to close coal-
fired plants, which has been delayed.
Yakabuski said Ontario manufacturers won't invest more in the
province until they're sure the energy supply is reliable.
NDP Leader Howard Hampton said the province should look to ways
of encouraging better energy conservation.
Hampton estimated a new nuclear plant could cost as much as $10
billion to construct and noted that the Darlington nuclear plant
cost nearly three times as much to build than originally
anticipated.
"We can get further with energy efficiency . . . it will be
cheaper than building $10-billion nuclear plants."
At a speech to the Ontario Energy Association in Niagara Falls,
McGuinty said he's willing to take a political hit for building
nuclear plants even if they prove unpopular. He accused previous
governments of having delayed dealing with the nuclear issue.
"We won't gamble away Ontario's future prosperity because of what
the next poll might or might not say," he told industry officials.
Murray Elston, president of the Canadian Nuclear Association,
said costs to build a nuclear plant can be kept under control as
long as there's a firm commitment to construct them, an no starts
and stops.
"The one thing which is absolutely key for our industry is that
once the decision is taken that we get on with putting the projects
in the ground," Elston said.