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Reactor power increased on Unit 5 Steve Cannon from Bruce Power has some good news for Ontario residents, announcing that reactor power on Unit 5 was raised by three per cent this week, an increase that is expected to produce enough new electricity to power a city the size of Owen Sound. Unit 5 becomes the third Bruce B Unit to be up rated following fuel-loading modifications that allow operators to safely raise the reactor power from 90 to 93 per cent. Earlier power hikes on Units 6 and 7 resulted in an approximately 30 megawatt increases in output. “Since 2001, we have embarked on a program of investment and innovation to find ways to safely increase our output,” said Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Through a combination of fueling improvements and new turbine rotors at Bruce B, the results of those investments are now being realized. By restarting new units at Bruce A and improving the way we operate our Bruce B units, output on our site rise by more than 60% in the last six years, which has gone a long way to helping Ontario meet its power needs.” The announcement is good news for those who worry that with spring and summer on its way, power from wind turbines will again slow to a trickle, leaving Ontario to depend on coal fired electrical plants to make up for what nuclear sites can’t produce. Recent hot, windless summers have put an enormous strain on the electricity supply, forcing Ontario to not only keep its coal plants running as much as before the flood of wind turbines, but also buy it from neighbouring coal plants in the US. Air quality experts blame much of the smog recorded at the Tiverton Air Quality Station on US pollutants, which drift across Lake Huron and flow northward. Much of the pollutants come from not only the Detroit-Windsor area, but from coal-fired generators in the other areas in the US. Many who are educated with the pros and cons of wind power say that energy produced during the summer months, when electricity is in peak demand in Ontario, slows to a trickle from wind turbines, simply because of the lack of wind. This they say, means that coal powered plants must continue to operate on stand-by 24-7, producing the same emissions as before wind turbines began filling the landscape. This is so power from the coal plants can be used to make up for the fluctuations and sudden drops in power, which occurs when wind conditions deteriorate. Sudden drops, spikes and surges can cause major headaches to those who look after the province’s electrical grid and can lead to blackouts. Bruce Power, Canada's first private nuclear generating company, already the source of more than 20 per cent of Ontario's electricity will soon be putting out more power to help satisfy energy-thirsty Ontario residents. Cannon says that reactor power on Unit 8 is expected to be increased by 2009. |
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