Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
If we wanted to be carbon neutral, the first thing we could do is to replace all fossil fuel plants with nuclear. That would allow some time to build up the wind, solar and hydro, as well as the cross grid transmission lines. You cannot just feed power fro Quebec to Alberta.
The problem is that everyone is scared of nuclear because they do not understand the realities. Both Chernobyl and Fukushima were old plants at the time of their accidents. Also, the reactors Canada uses - CANDU - are designed to fail safe.
Sadly, too many politicians and citizens want a quick change.
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Agreed, nuclear is the answer that nobody wants to acknowledge. There is no feasible way yet to provide a stable baseload for a power grid using wind or solar. Either you have to use hydro, fossil fuels, or nuclear. Considering the vast environmental impact that hydro has, through flooding and the complete changing of ecosystems for reservoir creation, nuclear is the smallest footprint option by a long shot.
One nuclear plant close to the size of Bruce in Alberta could basically solve the entire coal/gas plant problem in the west. Adding some more full-size reactors at Point Lepreau in New Brunswick could eliminate the coal/gas plants in Atlantic Canada. However, this is not the solution people want, unfortunately.