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| Fig. 1: Chalk River Laboratories, where nuclear energy research first began in Canada. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Nuclear energy is an important energy source for Canada, providing both a reliable source of electricity and a steady stream of jobs. [1] Nuclear energy uses thermal energy to generate electricity, although it does not emit any greenhouse gasses; it is one of the most prominent energy sources in Canada, accounting for 15% of its total energy generation. [1] Canada is also the sixth largest nuclear generating country and generates 4% of the total nuclear power used in the world; Ontario and New Brunswick are the only two provinces that have nuclear power plants, and in both provinces, nuclear energy is the largest source of electricity generation. Nuclear energy is now a driving force in Canada's energy economy, and is the result of rapid innovation over the last few decades.
The very first Canadian nuclear research laboratory was built in 1942, when the British suggested that a joint British-Canadian laboratory should be built in Canada for nuclear research, which would be staffed by both British and Canadian scientists. [2] This collaboration eventually became the Chalk River Laboratories (shown in Fig. 1). It was agreed that Canada would receive the scientists from England, provide the laboratory facilities, and establish the project in Montreal as a division of the National Research Council of Canada. [2] The laboratory, known as the Montreal Laboratory, provided scientific data that was crucial for the design of both a fission reactor and chemical plants for plutonium and uranium extraction. The Montreal Laboratory ultimately closed in 1946, and was replaced by the National Research Experimental (NRX) reactor, which became a very important project for helping Canada develop more research in nuclear energy. These innovations allowed for Canada to quickly make progress in nuclear energy, and eventually develop modern resources that drive the country forward to this day.
While NRX and other reactors showed that it was possible to generate large amounts of energy from nuclear fission, the energy was only available as heat at relatively low temperatures. [3] If Canada would be able to harness the power of nuclear energy to generate electricity, then it could have very significant effects on the national economy. [3] In 1954, through a partnership with Canadian General Electric and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, a group of engineers assembled at the Chalk River Laboratories to begin designing a nuclear power plant called the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD). [3] In 1962, the NPD was officially completed, and was able to deliver a full-power generation of 20 MW.
The design of the NPD became known as the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor, which generates electricity using natural uranium fuel, a neutron moderator for heavy water, and a coolant that is pumped through pressure tubes. [3] Shortly after the NPD was put into operation, the CANDU concept became commercialized and new reactors were built, including the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. [4] In present day, the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is the largest in Canada, and features a total of 8 CANDU reactors. Four of the reactors are grouped in a section called Bruce A and the other four in Bruce B. Bruce A has a total capacity of 3,239 MW, and Bruce B has a total capacity of 3,268 MW, for an approximate total power output of 6,507 MW.
We can see that over the years from the NPD to the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station Canada has made significant progress in bringing in large amounts of electricity in the form of nuclear power. [5] As of 2021, there are 19 nuclear power reactors in Canada, providing approximately 15% of the country's electricity and generating more than $6 billion in revenue each year, supporting a total of 76,000 Canadian jobs.
In 2021, Canada consumed a total of 0.83 EJ of nuclear energy. [6] This number was the total thermal energy consumed. At 5% enrichment, the energy content of this Uranium fuel is
| 0.05 × | 230 × 106 eV atom-1
× 1.602 × 10-19 J eV-1
× 6.022 × 1023 atoms mole-1 0.238 kg mole-1 |
|
| = | 4.66 × 1012 J kg-1 | |
The mass of spent fuel nuclear waste that Canada produced in 2021 must approximately equal the mass of fresh fuel consumed, which amounts to
| 8.3 × 1017 J y-1 4.66 × 1012 J kg-1 |
= | 1.78 × 105 kg y-1 |
or 178 tonnes per year. This waste generation can prove detrimental to both the Canadian people and the environment.
Overall, nuclear energy remains an important aspect of Canada's energy consumption. From the Montreal Laboratory to the NPD to the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, Canada has made a significant amount of progress in advancing nuclear energy, although nuclear waste generation is also a factor to consider in their progress.
© Apollo Lee. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "Nuclear Energy in Canada: Energy Market Assessment," National Energy Board of Canada, NE-197/2018E, August 2018.
[2] G. C. Laurence, "Early Years of Nuclear Energy Research in Canada, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, May 1980.
[3] Atomic Energy Of Canada Limited, Canada Enters the Nuclear Age, (Mcgill-Queens University Press, 1997).
[4] "A Guide to Bruce Power," Bruce Power L. P., March 2022.
[5] "The Canadian Nuclear Factbook 2021," Canadian Nuclear Association, 2021.
[6] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022," British Petroleum, June 2022.
