Cost of Pickering refurbishment is too high

January 30, 2024

GUELPH — Ontario Greens Leader Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to news that the Ford government will proceed with the refurbishment of four reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.

“Ford’s Pickering plan will drive up electricity costs.

Greens understand that nuclear power from the Bruce and Darlington nuclear stations will be part of Ontario’s electricity mix for decades.

But Pickering is one of the oldest, worst-performing nuclear plants in North America. It makes no sense for the government to pour billions into keeping it operational when lower-cost, cleaner solutions are available.

Last year, the world invested over $1.7 trillion in the energy transition. Over half of that was in wind and solar generation because they are the lowest-cost sources of generation.

Instead of attracting jobs and investment in low-cost renewables, the Ford government is making Ontario’s grid dirtier and more expensive by prioritizing dirty fossil gas plants and the costly, poor-performing Pickering plant.

The best way to protect Ontario’s consumers, economy and climate is to invest in low-cost renewables and ambitious efficiency programs to help Ontarians save money by saving energy.

Anything else is just putting Ontario further behind while the rest of the world embraces the clean energy future.”

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