It’s always a big week for the Clean Energy Frontier when we’re able to announce that a new clean energy company has set up shop in our region.
This week, we were excited to see Nucleom announce that they will be supporting Bruce Power’s Major Component Replacement (MCR) project and have established a local office to help carry out this important work.
Let’s start this week by learning more about Nucleom and their local presence.
1. Nucleom establishes local office to support work at Bruce Power
“We are excited with this opportunity to bring our ideas to fruition and support one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canada.” That’s what Nucleom’s CEO and Founder, Olivier Marcotte, had to say this week about the work that the company will be engaged in with Bruce Power.
The announcement this week stated that Nucleom actively participates in research and development to establish novel technologies in the nuclear industry. As it relates to the MCR project, the release notes that inventive solutions have advanced the Radiography method to provide a safer working environment for workers, while increasing productivity of the MCR project.
The announcement also highlighted that Nucleom’s newly established office in Kincardine will become the base of operations for more than 40 full-time technicians and administrative employees dedicated to the MCR project.
“Bruce Power has been a major contributor to our growth, and it is important for us to actively participate in the Bruce County economy and community initiatives,” said Marcotte.
And that’s what the Clean Energy Frontier is all about.
Check out more on this story here.
2. COP26 president calls for the end of coal
Late last week, Alok Sharma, President of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (otherwise known as COP26), stated that the upcoming COP26 summit in November “must be the COP that consigns coal power to history.”
With many jurisdictions still heavily reliant on coal-fired power plants for electricity generation, phasing out the use of coal will certainly be a critical part of our global efforts to decarbonize and reach net zero by 2050 (or sooner!). Fortunately, right here in Ontario, we know how to do this.
In April, we celebrated the 7th anniversary of the phase out of coal-fired electricity generation in our province (an initiative that is still considered one of the largest clean-air initiatives in North America). The Clean Energy Frontier played a crucial role in achieving this milestone for Ontario.
Bruce Power, by returning Units 1-4 to service over the previous decade, provided the province with 70% of the carbon-free energy it needed to successfully shut down coal-fired plants. These efforts have created an electricity system in our province that is more than 90% carbon-free.
The message here is simple: net zero needs nuclear. We need to learn from Ontario’s efforts to phase out coal and apply those lessons to jurisdictions around the world.
3. The Great Lakes: Our Electric Future – seizing regional opportunities
Last week, I listened in to an event called The Great Lakes: Our Electric Future hosted by CityAge and the Council of the Great Lakes Region. It was a very interesting event with several great panel discussions about the opportunities that exist in the Great Lakes Region when it comes to clean energy.
One of the panel discussions really connected to what we are doing here locally in the Clean Energy Frontier. The topic of the panel was: “How Regional Economies Can Seize New Energy Opportunity.”
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Leverage existing assets.
Create “innovation bubbles” and networks of support.
Focus on regional efforts.
Encourage the development of mutually beneficial ecosystems.
Develop a broad coalition of support – including local government.
These are some of the key pillars of the Clean Energy Frontier program. We are working to leverage our existing assets to create new opportunities for our region and demonstrate regional leadership.
We’re building an impressive network of innovative companies (see Thought #1), which has spurred a mutually beneficial ecosystem in the region. And our municipalities have endorsed these efforts and understand the opportunity that we have by focusing on a regionally scoped effort.
Chad Richards is the Director of the Clean Energy Frontier.