PDN 0.37% $1.37 paladin energy ltd

^^^ uranium general info ^^^

  1. 966 Posts.
    By Rajiv Sekhri
    TORONTO, March 18 (Reuters) - Bruce Power's chief executive said on Thursday that two mothballed nuclear reactors could start generating electricity by 2007, just in time to help Ontario cope with a supply crisis.

    "It would not be unreasonable to expect Bruce to contribute within that time period," Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's chief executive, told Reuters,

    Ontario, whose electricity sector is languishing, plans to shut all its coal-fired plants by 2007 to combat pollution. The move will cut about a quarter of the province's generating capacity

    Hawthorne's comments came on the heels of a key report that warned that Ontario needs to beef up nuclear generation if it is to meet growing demand.

    The report, commissioned by the ruling Liberal Party, which came to power in October, said the province should seek private money for nuclear ventures.

    Jerry Grandey, chief executive of uranium giant Cameco Corp. (CCO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) , one of the owners of Bruce Power, told Reuters that Cameco currently has no plans for investing in other nuclear properties in Ontario, despite the strong vote of confidence for nuclear power in the province's future.

    Earlier this year, Bruce Power, whose owners also include pipeline company TransCanada Corp. (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and BPC Generation trust, said it was conducting a feasibility study on restarting Bruce A units 1 and 2. Bruce Power has eight nuclear reactors, six of which are in service.

    Grandey said Bruce Power commissioned the study "in anticipation of the government coming to the realization that nuclear must play a strong role in the future."

    The report, chaired by former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, urged the province to restart one of three idled units at Pickering A by 2005 to lessen a looming supply crunch. The Pickering station is owned by Ontario Power Generation, the provincially owned utility that generates about 70 percent of the province's electricity.

    The Pickering unit's restart should cost up to C$600 million ($450 million), the report said.

    "If (the province) proceeds with our advice, (the Pickering unit) could be in operation in 2005," Manley said. " (The unit) at Pickering is much further advanced than the Bruce units."
    Allan Kupcis, chairman of the Canadian Nuclear Association, said the report's recommendations on nuclear power are "totally feasible if you look at the broader world context", with China, Finland, France, Korea and the United States generating electricity from nuclear sources.
    However, critics said shutting coal plants could cause economic damage in the short term.

    ""We agree that nuclear is the future, but there has to be a short-term plan, said Ian Howcroft, Ontario vice-president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. "Eliminating coal by 2007 without any contingency is a risk the Ontario government must not take."

    Provincial Energy Minister Dwight Duncan already has plans to create 2,800 megawatts of new electricity by 2007 from conservation efforts and non-coal sources. But that falls short of the 6,240 megawatts of power Ontario will lose by shutting the coal plants.


 
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