The federal Liberal government announced on Monday that coal-fired power plants in Canada will need to shut down or eliminate their emissions by 2030.
Alberta currently has seven coal-fired power plants, which is the most of any province. Saskatchewan has three, Nova Scotia two, and New Brunswick one. While Alberta has the greatest number of coal fired power plants, the impact per capita is greatest in Saskatchewan, followed by Nova Scotia and then Alberta.
In 2008, a nuclear power expert panel provided a report titled Nuclear Power and Alberta for Alberta’s Minister of Energy. It stated the estimated timeframe for nuclear power plant licensing and construction is nine years.
Alberta might use something other than nuclear power to replace coal, but I use this as an example for perspective on the timeframe. If we need to proceed with nuclear power generation in Alberta, the licensing and construction process must begin in four years for us to comply with the 2030 deadline.
Ultimately, Albertans have been given four years to figure out how to eliminate emissions from our coal fired electrical generation. Is it possible to replace all of that electricity with wind and solar power? Is nuclear power needed to meet the demand? Can we afford it? There’s lots to figure out and not much time to do it.
