Executive Summary   …

Executive Summary

 

Terrestrial Energy has chosen to locate in Oakville, Ontario.  Terrestrial Energy is developing an Advanced Reactor called the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) for 2020s deployment.  The IMSR400 offers the potential for deep decarbonization by providing the industry with a clean, convenient, and cost-competitive alternative – a 600 oC hot common industrial salt.  These salts are excellent heat transfer fluids, they transfer heat efficiently from the reactor to an industrial plant for not only electric power production, but also for co-generation, process heat applications and chemical synthesis.  The inherent control features of the IMSR provide 190 MWe of dispatchable power, at an affordable capital cost, and with an operating flexibility that can embed effortlessly into existing transmission systems.

 

TEI’ Strategic Posture

 

1.Clean, reliable, affordable energy is critical to Ontario’s future prosperity and quality of life.

 

2.Electricity will play an ever-increasing role in our energy supply mix due to electrification of transportation and continued growth in electricity consumption.

 

3.Reducing carbon emissions wherever technically and economically feasible is an energy policy imperative driven by climate change realities and evolving public attitudes towards preserving the environment.

 

4.Creating a robust supply mix is good policy, including a range of renewables; nuclear should

 

play a role that is commensurate with its relative value/cost and benefits equation relative to competing supply choices…in other words, every supply source should “earn the right” to be part of the supply mix based on demonstrated benefits relative to cost.

 

5.Nuclear technology is evolving rapidly with the emergence of Generation IV designs that offer significant benefits relative to the current state-of-the-art; Ontario’s LTEP should reflect this technology evolution and provide for a spectrum of investments in early-stage development of the most promising designs.

 

6.All technologies need to be evaluated based on their full cost and ability to deliver needed electricity supply capacity, in particular the provision of baseload power to the grid.

 

7.The refurbishments of the Bruce and Darlington Nuclear Power Stations are good economic and strategic decisions and will deliver a solid baseload capacity to the Province of Ontario through to roughly 2050, but planning must look beyond that timeframe to consider replacement technologies. Given the lengthy product development and testing life cycle of nuclear power plants there is not the luxury of deferring investments in advanced nuclear; rather, now is the time to be supporting advanced nuclear development to bring forth the best solutions for the next wave of new supply capacity.

 

8.Supporting the indigenous Ontario nuclear sector is good policy, both bringing forth direct benefits to Ontario through lower cost supply provided by local suppliers, and opening up the potential for robust export industries based on creating technologies that are competitive on a global scale.

 

TEI’s Position on Nuclear Power Generation

 

Although the installed capacity of nuclear has declined on a percentage basis by 4% between 2005 and 2015 the contribution to total energy production has increased by 7% and nuclear meets almost 60% of Ontario’s electricity demand.

 

Nuclear generation provided the largest share of Ontario’s electricity in 2015, producing 92.3 TWh of electricity; 2 ¿ times that of hydroelectric at 37.3 TWh; 6 times that of the 15.9 TWh generated from natural gas; and 6 ¿ times that of non-hydro renewables such as wind, solar and bioenergy that provided 14.2 TWh.  Arguably, nuclear is the backbone of Ontario’s electricity system and a source of reliable, cost-effective baseload generation, and as such, nuclear is also the greatest enabler of Ontario’s robust supply mix.

 

In addition, carbon emissions from the electricity sector are only about four percent of the province’s total emissions or approximately seven megatonnes of GHG emissions in 2015.  Lower demand, and conservation contributed to this decrease, but the largest impact on the lowering of emissions was the retirement of Ontario’s coal-fired fleet of generators.  In 2003, when coal accounted for 25% of Ontario’s electricity production, GHG emissions attributable to electricity generation were 32.5 megatonnes or about 7 ¿ times greater than today’s levels.  GHG-free nuclear power generation in tandem with the uptake of renewables has empowered the electricity sector in Ontario to achieve what, unquestionably, qualifies as the single largest GHG emissions reduction action on the continent, and was primarily responsible for Ontario achieving its ambitious 2014 emissions reduction target of 6% below 1990 levels.  Refer to figure below.

 

Finally, the nuclear industry consists of over 180 companies and is an important driver of Ontario’s economy, employing 60,000 people and generating billions of dollars in economic activity each year.  Nuclear companies and research laboratories in communities across Ontario have expertise in the design and construction of sophisticated systems and components, that not only support the on-going refurbishment of Bruce and Darlington units, but can also pioneer the innovation and entrepreneurial leadership that will foster the development of advanced nuclear technologies.

 

For these reasons, Terrestrial Energy has chosen to locate in Oakville, Ontario.  Terrestrial Energy is developing an Advanced Reactor called the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) for 2020s deployment.  The IMSR400 offers the potential for deep decarbonization by providing the industry with a clean, convenient, and cost-competitive alternative – a 600 oC hot common industrial salt. These salts are excellent heat transfer fluids, they transfer heat efficiently from the reactor to an industrial plant for not only electric power production, but also for co-generation, process heat applications and chemical synthesis.  The inherent control features of the IMSR provide 190 MWe of dispatchable power, at an affordable capital cost, and with an operating flexibility that can embed effortlessly into existing transmission systems.

 

Conclusion

 

The Ontario Ministry of Energy framed an important question in the Long Term Energy Plan discussion framework:

 

“What strategies should Ontario pursue to harness the potential of its nuclear sector to meet its future energy needs?”

 

The IESO’s median demand projection predicts that the province’s installed capacity will need to increase from 39,527 MW to 42,635 MW by 2035 and there is potential that increased electrification -- of transport, for example -- will produce even higher demand.  No single option can meet all consumer needs at all times and the IESO hypothesizes choices that include combinations of wind, solar, hydroelectricity, natural gas, bioenergy, demand response, nuclear and long-term contracts for imports, and new technologies.

 

Terrestrial Energy takes the position that:

 

•Nuclear power generation is a valuable provincial resource, and nuclear has become the most important set of heritage assets of the province as nuclear power has grown and progressed over the past seven decades.

 

•The human capital, the knowledge base and the supply chain capability of the nuclear industry is a significant contributor to both the Ontario economy and to Ontario’s innovation landscape. •The refurbishment of the existing nuclear fleet is a judicious strategy to establish clean and reliable base-load power for the next generations.

 

•The adoption and promotion of technologies such as Terrestrial Energy's IMSR400, is consistent with Ontario’s aspiration to maintain its reputation as a world leader in the development and utilization of clean energy sources, and will further enable the flexibility of Ontario’s electricity system, contribute to its diversity, and present manageable build-cycles that will foster cost discipline in the sector.

 

[Original Comment ID: 207176]