The BC Conservatives have announced that if elected, they would pursue achieving energy independence by lifting the de facto ban on developing nuclear energy and exploring the use of small modular reactors.
The Conservatives would explore installing small modular nuclear reactors so long as seismic safety and cost concerns are addressed.
Currently, British Columbia has a de facto ban on adding nuclear energy to the province’s energy mix.In 2010, the BC Liberal government of the time passed the Clean Energy Act that specifically states the province will lower its carbon emissions and “energy objectives without the use of nuclear power.”
However, BC Conservative leader John Rustad has been a vocal proponent of nuclear energy as a means to expand the province’s energy grid while doing so in an environmentally-friendly manner.
In an August interview on the Jordan Peterson podcast, Rustad talked about the benefits of small modular nuclear reactors and the need to refute the negative connotation that the word “nuclear” has and communicate the safety of nuclear power.
“It’s something that I think as a government we need to go out and have an honest conversation with people about. Like let’s talk about what it means and what the cost is for people and what that means for your quality of life and what the options are and lets just be straight up with people and let them decide where they’d like to go,” said Rustad.
With the BC Conservatives’ latest policy announcement, the party expands on many of the notions Rustad has advanced.
If elected, the BC Conservatives would amend the Clean Energy Act to allow nuclear power into the province’s energy mix, expand the energy regulator’s mandate to include nuclear power, and commit to having a small modular nuclear reactor up and running by 2035.
The BC Conservatives would engage in a public relations campaign to build trust in nuclear energy and maintain an honest and transparent conversation about challenges, costs, and benefits of nuclear power.
The BC Conservatives are also planning on reversing the BC NDP’s plan to ban the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2035 and the plan to phase out natural gas use.
Public opinion polls show that support for overturning the province’s restrictions on energy generation and electric vehicle sales is significant.
An August poll from Ipsos found that 58% of British Columbians support reviewing the restrictions on nuclear energy compared to only 27% who are opposed and 50% support reviewing the ban on natural gas compared to 34% who are opposed.
Similarly, 53% of BC residents oppose the electric vehicles sales mandate while 60% support delaying the timeline on the EV sales mandate.
As demand for energy grows nationwide, provinces have sought out nuclear energy as means to fulfill those demands.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has sought to double the production of the Bruce Power nuclear generation stations, unveiled plans to add three small modular nuclear reactors to the energy grid, and refurbish the nuclear power plant in Pickering to boost its generation capacity.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith ordered a study to investigate developing nuclear energy in her province while Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf stated that the government is looking into building conventional nuclear power plants.