While Quebec will very soon table a “robust” bill on energy, the Minister of the Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, believes that the development of the nuclear sector must be considered. He promises discussions with the population to decide whether “we want it or not.”
As long as there are no discussions on the risks and benefits of atomic energy, “Quebecers will oppose nuclear power,” he declared during a panel on nuclear energy. energy in which he participated this Wednesday, on the occasion of the publication of the Economic Barometer of the BCF firm.
A justified fear, according to him, given that there has been no “narrative” on the subject of nuclear power in the province: “I think that it is a debate that must take place and we will decide collectively if we wants it or if we don’t want it. »
Since the closure of the Gentilly-2 power plant more than 10 years ago, the energy situation has changed profoundly, he maintained. Demand for electricity is today stimulated by the electrification of several sectors of activity, including transport, and Quebec’s desire to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
“Nuclear will have to be considered. Not tomorrow morning and not before the election, but I think the discussion must take place,” he said, maintaining that this form of energy “is going to be part of the integrated resources plan, because today Today –– and this is a personal opinion – decarbonizing the planet without nuclear power will not happen.”
Two specific issues will need to be addressed, according to him. First of all, there are fears related to the safety of nuclear power plants. “Apprehensions were rekindled” with the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, he recalled.
The other element concerns the disposal of uranium waste. On this subject, he cites the example of Ontario which, in collaboration with indigenous communities, “has found geological deposits where they are going to put the uranium there”.
Would Quebec consider more the construction of large power plants equipped with CANDU reactors or would it favor the construction of small modular reactors (SMR), these power plants with a capacity of less than 300 megawatts (MW) deployable in remote regions? No specific avenue is being considered so far, he replied.
On the subject of PRMs, the minister was keen to point out that the technologies are still not proven: “There is not an operational reactor and what is the cost of that? If it costs $0.20 per KW, maybe we won’t get any. »