OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - 28

NEWS & EVENTS
ON THE WEB
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GETTING TO ZERO -
The Role of Small Modular
Reactors (SMRs)
This article was prepared by Paul Acchione, P.Eng., OSPE member and subject matter expert on
OSPE's Energy Task Force who presented at the virtual 2021 Engineering Conference in October.
G
28
etting to zero emissions from our energy systems
across all sectors of the economy at an affordable
cost is not going to be as easy as many people
believe.
There are a number of engineering challenges
that must be overcome that most of the public do not appreciate.
Power system engineers have been trying for years to make that
point but the world's leaders have not been listening very well.
About 10 years ago, OSPE began to publish engineering studies
and seminars explaining the challenges we face to transition from
fossil fuels to zero emitting energy sources in our electricity,
transportation, industrial and building sectors. Consumers
demand both dependable and resilient energy supply.
It is
important therefore to ensure that when we use zero emission
energy sources that are weather dependant (solar, wind and to a
lesser degree hydroelectric) that provisions have been made to
sustain the energy supply when those sources are not producing
THE VOICE December 2021
especially during life-threatening weather events.
Nuclear power has served Ontario well for the past 50 years
providing over 60% of our electricity. Nuclear plants are very
dependable with capacity factors of 85 to 90%. Because they are
more costly to build than fossil fuelled plants, Ontario uses them
to provide base-load electricity round the clock. Hydroelectric
plants also provide base-load electricity. Peak load electricity
is provided by hydroelectric, solar, wind and when necessary,
natural gas fired plants. Natural gas plants provide our operating
and planning reserve and back up any of the other plants when
they are not producing.
For the past 10 years OSPE has been advising the Ontario
government that variable renewable sources like wind and
solar energy did not have the dependability or resilience to meet
consumer's requirements without the help from large amounts
of storage or a backup energy supply. More recently, several
studies around the world have been raising the alarm that a 100%

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OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021

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Table of Contents
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OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - Cover2
OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - Table of Contents
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OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - Cover3
OSPE - The Voice - Winter 2021 - Cover4
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