The Canadian federal government is the first in the world legislated nuclear power as environmentally friendly. On the one hand, it is a forced measure, but from the point of view of common sense it is a long overdue step.
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The consequences of accidents in nuclear power plants are dire. Fortunately, technologies to exploit the “peaceful atom” have not stopped and developed into a state that is reliable enough for widespread operation. All countries interested in economic growth are betting on nuclear energy: some intensively, like France, others cautiously, like Japan. There are also countries with a total rejection of nuclear energy, the clearest example of which is Germany, but this is an exception that only underlines the global importance. trend.
Canada has historically been strong in nuclear power. Numerous “green” initiatives of the past two decades have not been able to destroy the local nuclear industry. Furthermore, for the neighboring country of the United States, the issue of cheap electricity is a matter of economic survival. In the United States, as we know, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, adopted a year ago, is directed make a bet on atomic energy and almost equates it with clean energy. For Canada, this is a signal that they will have to follow the same path.
Recently, the federal government of Canada documented the status of nuclear energy as being environmentally friendly. However, this was a bit tricky: the small modular reactors are recognized as clean energy, the construction plans of which have already been approved in Canada (expected to launch around 2028). Large-scale nuclear power plants are still out of the wording of the new document, but this issue is under discussion and large reactors can be expected to receive environmentally friendly status as well.
Formally, the recognition of nuclear energy (in the form of small modular reactors) as being environmentally friendly is formalized in Canada as a permit for preferential investment in SMR along with other renewable and low-carbon energy and industry types on this basis. In particular, a refundable tax credit equal to 30% of the investment amount is envisaged for these investments. To stimulate such projects, Canada intends to allocate C $ 6.7 billion ($ 5 billion) over five years starting in 2023-24.
“Including nuclear energy in the investment tax credit for clean energy technologies is a big step forward for the industry and great news for our climate and our economy,” said John Gorman, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA). “This confirms what we have been saying to CNA for many years: nuclear power is clean energy and should be a key part of Canada’s strategy to maintain energy security by reducing emissions to net zero.”
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