Sharing the clean energy benefits of nuclear power with local communities and other economic sectors is the impetus behind the Net Zero Partnerships program (NZP) launched by Bruce Power and the Nuclear Innovation Institute.
The Net Zero Partnerships program will provide a way for the nuclear industry to collaborate with governments, farmers, environmental groups and others on innovative ways to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. The program will explore the potential for initiatives such as carbon sequestration and protecting natural habitats to make measurable contributions to reaching a state of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.
“Everyone has a role to play in a net-zero future. At Bruce Power, we supply Ontarians with clean, reliable, emissions-free nuclear electricity, which will be a critical part of a decarbonized future,” said James Scongack, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Operational Services at Bruce Power. “The Net Zero Partnerships program will drive community-based initiatives that will help us achieve our net-zero goals, recognizing that we all have a role to play in the fight against climate change.”
Operating within the NII, the NZP program will support Bruce Power’s commitment to achieving net-zero operations on its site by 2027—the most ambitious commitment of its kind by a nuclear operator in North America—as well as Canada’s national goal of meeting the net zero target by 2050.
Reaching such an ambitious target is challenging, but also presents new opportunities for clean economic growth. There is widespread agreement among governments and industry leaders that getting to net zero will require fresh approaches to cutting emissions, including the need to exploit the ability of soils, forests, wetlands and other natural features to capture and hold carbon from the atmosphere.
The NZP program will be a local catalyst for alliances that can develop these cooperative net-zero projects.
The program will be led by Chad Richards. Richards is the former Director of NII’s Clean Energy Frontier program. In his previous role with the Clean Energy Frontier, he worked to demonstrate the critical role that Bruce, Grey and Huron counties will play in a net-zero future.
The program will also manage the Community Carbon Coalition launched earlier this year by Bruce Power to collect information on potential projects with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, businesses and agricultural organizations across southwestern Ontario.
Learn more about what net zero means by watching NII’s Take a Moment to Better Understand Net Zero video, and more specifically for Bruce Power with this fact sheet.
source: media release, NII
