For the record, the largest capacity reactor at Pickering, the 530MWe unit B5 produced 4,042,003MWh in its best year (2019, 87% capacity factor), roughly 300,000 MWh less than current solar installations did in 2023.
Wind and solar capacity has been growing in the vicinity of 11% a year. Nuclear hasn’t, as it peaked in 1993 at 15,800MWe, and has been stalled at 13,500 since 2012, when Gentilly 2 was shut down for the last time.
The cost of installed wind is averaging out to roughly $1300/kW globally on an equalized basis. The reactors at Vogtle, the last new-build reactors commissioned in North America, are currently sitting at approximately $13,000/kW.
This is good to see.
Each of these four reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant generate more electricity in a year than all the solar farms in Canada combined.
We can’t build enough additional solar or wind capacity to replace them in any reasonable timeframe.
To be fair, Canada doesn’t build much solar. Most of our modern green energy is wind.
Total Hydro-electric for 2023 297,625,045MWh
Total nuclear MWh for 2023 70,143,731MWh
Total Wind MWh for 2023 30,464,472MWh
Total Solar MWh for 2023 4,327,641MWh
(Jan-Oct. Figures for Nov,Dec not available yet)
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2510001501&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=2.1&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=12&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2023&referencePeriods=20230101%2C20231201
For the record, the largest capacity reactor at Pickering, the 530MWe unit B5 produced 4,042,003MWh in its best year (2019, 87% capacity factor), roughly 300,000 MWh less than current solar installations did in 2023.
Wind and solar capacity has been growing in the vicinity of 11% a year. Nuclear hasn’t, as it peaked in 1993 at 15,800MWe, and has been stalled at 13,500 since 2012, when Gentilly 2 was shut down for the last time.
The cost of installed wind is averaging out to roughly $1300/kW globally on an equalized basis. The reactors at Vogtle, the last new-build reactors commissioned in North America, are currently sitting at approximately $13,000/kW.