Quebec's hydroelectric utility says it is studying whether to reopen the province's only nuclear power generating station. A Hydro-Québec logo is seen on their head office building in Montreal, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015.
Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS
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SaveMONTREAL - Quebec’s hydroelectric utility is studying whether to reopen the province’s only nuclear power generating station as a response to a growing demand for clean energy.
Hydro-Québec confirmed Thursday that it’s looking into restarting the Gentilly-2 reactor in Bécancour, Que., on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. The plant opened in 1983 and closed in 2012.
“Concerning Gentilly-2, an assessment of the plant’s current condition is underway, in order to evaluate our options and inform our thinking about Quebec’s future energy supply,” the utility said in a statement.
The Crown corporation expects demand for clean energy to increase “significantly” as efforts to reduce carbon emissions continue.
It would be “irresponsible” to exclude certain energy sources, such as nuclear power, amid this “immense challenge,” it said, citing an “open mind” on the part of its new CEO, Michael Sabia.
But Pierre-Olivier Pineau, professor of energy sector management at the HEC Montréal business school, doubts reviving nuclear power would be profitable in Quebec.
In 2012, the provincial government under then-premier Pauline Marois accepted Hydro-Québec’s recommendation to close Gentilly-2, in part because of the high cost of refurbishing the plant.
“More than 10 years later, costs can only go up because we’ve started dismantling the plant,” Pineau explained in an interview. An increase in construction costs in the last decade means “the nuclear bill could turn out to be very high,” he said.
