Speaking today to the Empire Club of Canada, Bruce Power President & CEO Mike Rencheck announced ‘NZ-2050,’ the company’s strategy to contribute to a net zero Canada, while growing the economy and supporting innovation.

NZ-2050 builds off the strong foundation laid by Canada’s largest clean energy infrastructure project at Bruce Power, which contributed the majority of the clean, reliable, low-cost electricity Ontario needed to phase out coal-powered generation in 2014 – the largest emissions-reduction initiative in Canada this century.

“The COVID-19 pandemic we are fighting has demonstrated the importance of tackling big challenges together and doing everything we can to make a difference,” said Rencheck “This is what our NZ-2050 strategy is all about. We will only be successful by immediately leveraging our best assets and fostering innovation, which will lead to economic prosperity across Canada.

“Our NZ-2050 strategy builds on a proven foundation we have established through Canada’s largest private infrastructure and clean energy project. It also recognizes the reality that clean energy solutions need to be innovative and contribute to our quality of life in a meaningful way.”

Bruce Power’s NZ-2050 strategy consists of five pillars:

1. Optimize and leverage existing investments in Canada’s largest private-sector infrastructure project to drive further decarbonization;

2. Foster innovation in new energy technologies including new nuclear and fusion energy;

3. Utilize nuclear power generation to produce clean fuels and electrify industrial processes and transportation with an historic opportunity to contribute to a national hydrogen and clean fuels strategy;

4. Create an ecosystem of “green collar” jobs including the nuclear, manufacturing, and energy development sectors with a focus on diversity and more representation from women, visible minorities and Indigenous peoples; and

5. Inspire innovation by supporting strong social responsibility and sustainability, and providing contributions to global health such as life-saving medical isotopes as the world battles COVID-19.

“These pillars will guide our contributions and focus as an organization as we make historic and long-term investments in Canada’s single largest site for clean electricity, which will support thousands of jobs annually in Canada,” Rencheck said.

In addition to unveiling NZ-2050, the company announced 2021 initiatives in conjunction with the Nuclear Innovation Institute/Bruce Power Centre for Next Generation Nuclear including:

· A study into the next 50 years of the Bruce Power site – as the world’s largest operating nuclear facility with assets that can be optimized, enhanced, leveraged and life-extended, Bruce Power can have a profound impact on Canada’s clean energy future. This study will be released in 2021.

· The Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII) will explore the role of new nuclear and fusion energy technology as part of Canada’s clean energy future alongside existing nuclear. This builds off an announcement earlier this month on the potential for micro-reactors.

· A Hydrogen Unity Project – at a time when there are divisions in Canada on energy issues, we need solutions that can be a win for all provinces. The Centre will evaluate the opportunity for mass production of hydrogen using nuclear technology and evaluate opportunities for alignment with the oil and gas, transportation and electricity generation sectors. This will explore economic benefits, regional opportunities and greenhouse gas reductions.

· Any strategies need to recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. Fighting COVID-19, placing greater importance on global human health along with retooling and economic recovery need to be integrated with achieving Net Zero. The Bruce Power Retooling and Economic Recovery Council will launch a Panel Review to determine opportunities for enhancing global health through medical isotopes, leveraging the nuclear supply chain to be self-sufficient with PPE, and further opportunities to expand sterilization using Cobalt-60.

source: media release, Bruce Power