The Greenpeace protest takes place as Hydro-Québec is set to ask the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to renew the Gentilly-2 nuclear generating station’s operating licence at hearings in Bécancour. Activists set up in front of the government corporation’s offices approximately a dozen yellow nuclear waste barrels and two huge banners that read: “Hydro-Québec: Close Gentilly-2!” and “Mr. Charest: Focus on clean energy!”
“Greenpeace is closing the doors to Hydro-Québec’s head office because that’s what the government corporation needs to do with Gentilly-2. The citizens of Quebec shouldn’t be forced to live with nuclear risks when solutions exist,” said Eric Darier, director of Greenpeace in Quebec. “Quebec needs clean energy, not nuclear energy. It’s up to Thierry Vandal, President of Hydro-Québec, to recommend a single option to Premier Jean Charest: end Quebec’s experiment with risky nuclear power.”
The recent nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, which comes 25 years after the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, reminds us of the dangers surrounding the use of nuclear energy. Greenpeace questions the need and benefits to Quebec citizens of spending $2 billion to refurbish the nuclear generating station when the province forecasts an energy surplus. Quebec does not need Gentilly-2.
“It’s easy to eliminate the risks of nuclear accidents like Fukushima in Quebec: shut down Gentilly-2 and replace it with clean, sustainable forms of energy,” said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace, who visited Chernobyl last week. “The Canadian nuclear industry believes a nuclear accident is a real possibility and so should we. The best solution is to shut down Gentilly-2 now.”
Tomorrow, Stensil will recommend to the CNSC that it force Hydro-Québec to prepare for the permanent shutdown of the generating station. Last month, Stensil asked the Joint Review Panel studying the construction of new reactors at the Darlington nuclear site in Ontario to reject the project in light of the risks it poses for the environment and the people of Ontario in the event of a nuclear accident.
The aging Gentilly-2 nuclear station is nearing the end of its operational life and must undergo significant repairs or be shut down. The estimated cost of repairing Gentilly-2 is $2 billion. Greenpeace notes that the Hydro-Quebec has yet to provide any evidence of the profitability of rebuilding Gentilly-2 compared to safer alternatives.
“Gentilly-2 is not safe or cost-effective and its end of life is a unique opportunity for Quebec to make a forward-thinking choice as a society to use green energy,” said Eric Darier. “By moving away from nuclear energy, Quebec could allocate the billions of dollars earmarked for refurbishing Gentilly-2 to developing renewable energy and to energy savings that would create more jobs while steering clear of nuclear energy risks. Hydro-Québec needs to say this to Premier Jean Charest loud and clear.”
In Quebec, Greenpeace encourages the public to sign the petition to shut down Gentilly-2 on the National Assembly’s website: http://bit.ly/dZhmRm.
In Ontario, Greenpeace has been campaigning to stop the building of new reactors at the Darlington nuclear site. Learn more at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/end-the-nuclear-threat/Resources/
Take action on Darlington at: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/end-the-nuclear-threat/Get-involved/