Nuclear power: Should Canada follow Germany's lead?

An environmental activist sits on top of the Brandenburg Gate after Greenpeace activists fixed a radioactive sign to the Quadriga in Berlin, May 29. (Michael Gottschalk/dapd/Associated Press)Germany will shut down all of the country's nuclear reactors by 2022, according to a plan adopted early Monday.

Germany has 17 nuclear power plants, which supplied about a quarter of its electricity before seven of them were shut down this year after the catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima reactor.

Energy from wind, solar and hydroelectric power currently produces about 17 per cent of the country's electricity, but the government aims to boost its share to around 50 per cent in the coming decades.

In Canada, existing nuclear reactors in Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec are being refurbished to extend their lives, and there are plans to build more nuclear reactors.

Two new reactors at Ontario's Darlington nuclear plant are expected to go into service in 2018.  A new "clean energy park" along side the Point Lepreau plant in New Brunswick, which would blend renewable and nuclear power, is still in planning stages.

The Government of Canada has set the objective that 90 per cent of Canada's electricity needs be provided by non-emitting sources such as hydro, nuclear, clean coal or wind power by 2020.

Should Canada continue investing in nuclear power generation or follow Germany's lead and shut down its reactors altogether? Let us know what you think in the comments below.



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