Roughly 60 per cent of Ontario’s electricity is derived from nuclear reactors, making it one of the world’s most nuclear-dependent jurisdictions. Only France is more nuclear-reliant. Next door, Germany just closed its last three reactors.
Since nuclear power is largely carbon-free, it offers an advantage in a world trying to lower carbon emissions. However, our CANDU reactors are nearing their expiry dates and will need replacement within two decades. Our two oldest units have been allowed to continue running a little longer, but emergency extensions will not solve the underlying problem.
Our world is electrifying rapidly. In a dozen years, dealerships will only offer electric vehicles. We are being encouraged to replace our home furnaces with electrically powered heat pumps. In several countries, new homes are built without a gas connection, using heat pumps for winter warmth.
Steel mills are moving to electric furnaces using electrolytically produced hydrogen to pull oxygen from iron ore. Aluminum smelters already use electricity to refine the metal, but most use consumable carbon anodes, yielding carbon dioxide in the process. Inert anodes, transferring oxygen to hydrogen — yielding water — are now being installed in aluminum smelters.
Of course, electrolytic hydrogen must be used for the resulting metal to be carbon-free.
Electrifying our existing car fleet would require doubling our electricity generating capacity. We might get away with less if time-of-use pricing was aggressive enough so vehicles would be charged during periods of low demand.
However, new demand from home heating, industry and other sectors adds to the pressure on generation capacity. Where will this electricity come from?
There are several possibilities. Some experts suggest nuclear power is the only way Ontario can produce enough carbon-free electricity. Nuclear power is indeed a low carbon source, but comes with problems.
While the cost of new nuclear generation has been rising, that of renewables like wind and solar is falling rapidly.
Finland’s Olkiluoto is the most recent “western” nuclear reactor to begin producing power. Originally expected to be on line in five years, it is 12 years late and cost twice the original estimate.
Another issue relates to disposing of highly radioactive nuclear waste. This material remains deadly for over 100,000 years What language could be used to warn people living so far in the future of the hazard?
Gas turbines are favoured by Ontario’s current provincial government. However, that would make a mockery of our commitment to lower carbon emissions.
Moreover, electricity from wind turbines is actually cheaper, and that gap will widen as carbon taxes rise.
Wind is probably Ontario’s best bet for affordable electricity. Two decades ago, a proposal to install large wind turbines in shallow Great Lakes water offshore was axed due to NIMBY-ist lobbying.
More recently, Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives cancelled contracts, forcing onshore wind-turbine developers to remove already built equipment. This dispute is before the courts and breach of contract penalties will probably be levied.
This a shame, because Ontario’s wind resource is good. Wind turbines on farmland have minimal impact on agriculture while offshore units have little effect on marine life. Whether they are ugly is a personal matter.
They are far prettier than the photo-chemical smog which vanished when Ontario shut down its last coal-fired power station nine years ago. Wind turbines also offer farmers a reliable income, whether they own the equipment or merely lease the space under it.
The price of photovoltaic panels continues to decrease. Ontario is not a great fit for solar power. We are a cloudy region, and winter, when future heat pump demand will be high, offers brief daylight hours.
Biogas generated from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes is interesting. The process creates methane gas, which can be burned to generate power. Anaerobic digestion also reduces or even eliminates odours, and can render the output free of all pathogenic bacteria.
This is not “pie-in-the-sky” technology. The City of Barrie sewage treatment plant has supplied much of its heat and electrical needs this way for three decades. If manure from Ontario’s livestock farms was similarly processed, this could generate 1,000 megawatts — output of one CANDU nuclear unit — of renewable electricity.
Unlike much renewable power, it is available 24/7. In many parts of North America, geothermal power is practical. Wherever hot springs occur, hot rocks are close enough to the surface to exploit their heat for power generation. Unfortunately, Ontario’s hot rocks are too deep for cost-effective geothermal energy. However, this resource is very practical for Alberta and British Columbia.
Quebec is studying its geothermal resource. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, around 80 per cent of the continental United States has hot rocks close enough to the surface for electricity generation.
One of the problems with most renewable energy resources is their intermittent nature. Electricity storage can deal with this, but most battery types are costly. A popular way to store electricity is pumped hydro.
During periods of low demand, water is pumped from a low reservoir to a high reservoir. When power is needed, this water is allowed to flow downhill through turbines. Wherever there is a power dam, its generators can be shut down during periods of low demand, or when the wind resource is good and the water level behind the dam is allowed to rise. No need for pumping.
Then, the additional head of water can be released through turbines to provide power as required.
Unconventional energy storage is also available. Chillers for large buildings can be configured to make ice at night when power demand is low and the chillers’ heat is easier to dissipate to cooler night air. Daytime air-conditioning is satisfied by melting the ice.
Another idea is to use the batteries of the electric vehicles now coming into service. If connected to the grid via a two-way charger, peaks in electricity demand can come from them. Of course, the car owner will be paid for the electricity drawn from their vehicle. As demand drops, power will be pushed back into the vehicle battery.
Coupled with appropriate peak pricing, most electric vehicle charging should move to periods of low demand, probably at night. Daytime power demand peaks can be helped by rooftop solar photovoltaic panels.
Unfortunately, ground-mounted solar panels shade the ground around them. This reduces vegetation growth potentially leading to erosion! Rooftop solar also easily — ie. cheaply — connect to the grid via that building’s normal power cable. Rural solar panels require a new grid connection, increasing the price of their power.
Finally, we should work to increase east-west connections with our hydroelectricity-rich neighbours, Quebec and Manitoba. Such a project would help bind the country together, just as the trans-Canada railway once did some 140 years ago.
Many parts of the world, particularly North America, Western Europe and China are eager to electrify their economies, and look for ways to do so with carbon-free electricity.
Canada already has one of the world’s lowest carbon electricity grids. We should build on that advantage.
Barrie resident Peter Bursztyn is a self-proclaimed “recovering scientist” who has a passion for all things based in science and the environment. The now-retired former university academic has taught and carried out research at universities in Africa, Britain and Canada.
