In 1824, an article by Joseph Fourier presented for the first time a physical phenomenon that he called “greenhouse effect”. Two centuries later, we are confronted with the effects of this phenomenon: climatic upheavals, fires, famines, epidemics, migrations, etc. However, it is mainly the use of fossil fuels that has disrupted our climate.
As Jean-Marc Jancovici points out, “non-carbon” energy sources such as hydroelectricity, nuclear power and alternative energies (wind and photovoltaics) still provide only 18% of the world’s primary energy and 40% of the world’s primary energy. electricity production. This percentage was the same in 1974 (Jancovici, 2022).
Achieving carbon neutrality in Quebec
The government of Quebec has proposed an ambitious carbon neutrality plan for 2050. The realization of this plan poses enormous technological challenges, because it is based on the replacement of fossil fuels with carbon neutral energy sources, but more expensive and difficult to deploy. .
According to the 2022-2026 strategic plan presented by Hydro-Québec, Quebec will need to produce an additional 100 terawatt hours (TWh) of electrical energy annually if the province wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. For comparison, the La Large in its entirety, with a power of 16,000 MW, produces 83 TWh. The Gentilly-2 power plant with a power of 635 MW produced 4.7 TWh until 2012, given its high load factor.
This is therefore a significant increase, considering the fact that there is no longer a site suitable for such hydroelectric energy production in Quebec. The CEO of Hydro-Québec, Michael Sabia, said he was open to analyzing several options to produce these additional MW, including the use of nuclear energy.
A triple challenge for Quebec
The use of nuclear energy is necessary to meet a significant part of the production objectives set by Hydro-Québec. For the sake of discussion, let’s set this nuclear production at around 4,000 MW, representing a third of new needs with a horizon for 2050. Hydro-Québec will not be the only energy producer to consider such nuclear energy production : many European and Asian countries reach the same conclusions and this value is comparable to two of the new projects recently announced in Ontario which are 4800 and 1200 MW, on the Bruce and Darlington sites respectively.
The challenge for Hydro-Québec will be threefold:
1. choose the right technologies to produce thousands of nuclear MW;
2. secure supply chains in an international context which will become increasingly competitive;
3. promote the training of highly qualified personnel.
Our concerns relate to these challenges. Technological choices are fundamental. Many nuclear production options exist on the market (small or large modular reactors, various sectors, second, third or fourth generation reactors, etc.). Each of these options meets its own needs and constraints. We believe that Hydro-Québec should rely on the expertise of Quebec and Canadian engineers and our universities to develop its strategy. Several of the engineers involved in the operation of Gentilly-2 are still active in Quebec, Canada and worldwide, some of them still working within Hydro-Québec.
The second concern relates to securing supply chains. The modular construction of nuclear reactors, which is used for both small and large reactors, requires the delocalized manufacturing of specialized equipment (called modules), similar to what is done in aeronautics or the automobile sector. For nuclear power, we must add the supply of uranium for the duration of operation and the implementation of strategies for the recovery of spent fuel. The number of suppliers is necessarily limited and the number of potential customers will increase.
Since the 1970s, the Nuclear Engineering Institute (IGN) of Polytechnique Montréal has trained almost all of the highly qualified personnel working in Quebec in the field of nuclear engineering. The IGN is still active, even if the Institute has had to partially reorient its activities towards other markets for ten years. IGN has also developed software and applications in the nuclear sector which are still at the cutting edge of technology and even envisaged by the developers of new sectors of small modular reactors.
This expertise contributes to the training of highly qualified personnel who then pursue careers in nuclear engineering companies in Canada and here in Quebec. The IGN wishes to continue its mission and support the nuclear industry in line with the needs of Quebec.
In conclusion, we believe that the use of nuclear energy is necessary to achieve carbon neutrality in Quebec, but must be considered carefully and taking advantage of the specialists in the field present in Quebec, while ensuring the development of new skills. Procrastination is not an option and we will now have to evaluate and select the best strategies to achieve this.
*Also signed this letter:
Benoit Arsenault, Alain Batailly, Michel Beaudet, Mathieu Beaudoin, Cédric Begin, Éric Boisclair, Rachid Boukhili, Richard Chambon, Saïd El-Hajjami, Majid Fassi Fehri, Réal Forté, René Girard, Frederick Gosselin, Pascal Hernu, Solange Laberge, Rida Milany , Richard Moffett, Minh Nguyen, René Pageau, Gilles Sabourin, Emmanuel St-Aubin, Étienne Saloux, Kaveh Siamak, Jérôme Vettel, David Vidal, Jeremy Whitlock, Jean Wilson, Ramdane Younsi.