Now that Ontario has decided to push ahead with a $12.8-billion plan to rebuild its aging Darlington nuclear station, Ontario Power Generation has applied for a “whopping 69% increase in the amount it is paid for nuclear power over the next five years,” Canadian Press reported last week.
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance says the increase translates to a rate of 9¢ per kilowatt-hour for power generated at Darlington, more than the 8.6¢ the province pays for wind.
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“Our electricity rates are already too high, and we shouldn’t increase them even further when we can actually lower our bills by choosing a cleaner and safer option,” said Alliance Chair Jack Gibbons. “Why are we putting our children at risk of a nuclear accident when there are lower-cost options?”
Ontario “generates about 50% of its electricity from nuclear power, and Premier Kathleen Wynne has said she wants to keep it that way,” CP reports. So far, “wind power adds less than 5% to the energy supply mix.”
