Greenpeace blocking Pickering Nuclear power station.
The message was illustrated on a billboard: 'Minister: Don't
Nuke Green Energy.'
The McGuinty government and Smitherman are pushing the biggest
nuclear construction project in the world.
The government's spin around Smitherman's proposed Green Energy
Act is a cynical greenwashing exercise to cover his fixation on
building reactors we don't need instead of green power.
Greenpeace is blocking the Pickering reactor station because
Nuclear Energy Minister George Smitherman is blocking green energy
in Ontario," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a Greenpeace energy
campaigner. "Unless Smitherman says no to Pickering B, then the
proposed Green Energy Act is a cynical greenwash to hide the fact
that his nuclear plans will rob green energy of the funding needed
for development.
The Action
Greenpeace activists blocked a gate at the Pickering nuclear
station. We positioned a large flat bed truck at the gate with
about a dozen activists locked to the truck.
The truck carried a huge, colourful billboard with a caricature
of Smitherman pouring nuclear waste onto a wind turbine.
The activists also carried flags with messages including:
"Smitherman: Minister of Nuclear Waste" and "Going green means
shutting down nuclear!"
Smitherman is only considering nuclear options
Four aging reactors at Pickering B must be replaced beginning in
2013. That's when they reach the end of their useful life.
These reactors produce 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Smitherman must decide this year how to replace the Pickering B
reactors.
So far, the McGuinty government has only talked about nuclear
options.
It has failed to develop a green option for replacing the
reactors.
Renewable energy can replace nuclear
If Smitherman were really committed to green energy, he would
replace Pickering with green energy-wind, solar, conservation and
local generation.
Look at what Germany has done. Last year, Germany built 1,500 MW
of wind power. Overall it has built 31,000 MW of renewable energy
and created a viable wind industry that supports more than a
quarter of a million jobs.
Reactors are costly and slow to build
New reactors would take seven to 10 years to build. Pickering's
reactors, however, could be replaced by green energy in just a few
years.
The McGuinty government's electricity plan says replacement and
new reactors will cost $26 billion. You can't trust their
estimates.
The government's estimates are based on a cost of $2,972 per
kilowatt of nuclear electricity. Moody's Investment Service says
the real cost of building nuclear is likely $7,500 per
kilowatt.
On that basis, the McGuinty government's nuclear project more
likely will cost up to $50 billion.
Don't forget, not one of the reactors in Ontario was built on
time or on budget. Projects to refurbish old reactors have also
been late and significantly over budget.
Nuclear isn't green
A government can't call itself green if it plans to spend tens
of billions on nuclear reactors.
To prove it supports green, the McGuinty government must start
by replacing the Pickering reactors with renewable power.
The proposed Green Energy Act could be a valuable tool in
creating a green energy system in Ontario. But unless Ontario
replaces Pickering B with green energy, McGuinty's proposed Act is
a greenwash to cover its plan to ensure nuclear power is maintained
at 50 per cent of the electricity system.
Under the current Ontario plan, green energy is capped at about
5,300 MW to ensure space for 14,000 MW of nuclear.
Smitherman is ignoring advice
Last September, Smitherman asked the Ontario Power Authority to
review and expand its green energy targets.
In response, Canada's largest environmental organizations,
including Greenpeace, issued a report showing that the only way to
expand green energy is to replace ageing reactors, starting with
Pickering.
Smitherman's office has refused to adopt this green advice and
back off its nuclear commitments.
McGuinty's fantasy
The McGuinty government and Nuclear Energy Minister Smitherman
have created a fantasy that green energy is their first
priority.
To turn this fantasy into reality, the government must get off
its nuclear path and get onto the green path.
Read more about the issue
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Meet the activists