National Post editorial board: It's time to go nuclear

For years, Ontario’s Liberal government has woven dreams of an alternative-energy future for the province: homes, cars and factories powered by clean wind, solar, hydro and biofuel. On Tuesday, though, provincial Energy Minister Brad Duguid laid out an energy strategy for the next 20 years that relies on nuclear power, which the Minister claimed has been the “backbone” of the province’s energy supply for 30 years. Apparently all the government’s grand and expensive scheming has led it back to where it began.
Between now and 2030, Ontario will double consumers power bills to raise $33-billion for the refurbishment of 10 existing nuclear power plants (of 20 in operation) and the construction of two new ones. Reliance on fashionable “green” sources will quadruple, but at the end of the day will still satisfy just 13% of Ontario’s needs.
While we object to the tortured route Premier Dalton McGuinty and his ministers have taken to reach this point, and the exorbitant costs that will be laid on consumers, the reliance on nuclear power is sensible. Among all the alternatives to carbon-based energy, only nuclear can be produced on a large enough scale to meet the needs of a growing population and expanding economy. Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/11/27/national-post-editorial-board-its-time-to-go-nuclear/#ixzz175csTgpK