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Weekly Electrical Production by Canadian Nuclear Reactors in 2002
[A. CANDU Technology] [B. The Industry] [C. Cost/Benefit] [D. Safety/Liability] [E. Waste] [F. Security/Non-Proliferation] [G. Uranium] [H. Research Reactors] [I. Other R&D] [J. Further Info]


FOR THE YEAR 2002:  
 
Average weekly nuclear production: 
  1,367,000  
  MWh(e) net
Equivalent usage per week: 
  6,100,000  
  Canadian homes
Average wholesale value per week: 
  51,900,000  
  Cdn. dollars
 
AVERAGE AIR POLLUTION AVOIDED PER WEEK: 
Carbon dioxide (CO2) avoided: 
  1,162,000  
  tonnes
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) avoided: 
  4,500  
  tonnes
Sulpher dioxide (SO2) avoided: 
  5,200  
  tonnes
Particulate emissions avoided: 
  1,600  
  tonnes
 
THE TREND THROUGHOUT 2002: 


NOTES:

  • "Average weekly nuclear production" is the average electrical energy supplied to the grid by Canadian nuclear reactors per week in 2002, based upon limited preliminary data courtesy of the CANDU Owner's Group (COG). "MWh(e) net" = "Megawatt-hours (electrical) net". 1 MWh = 1000 kWh.

  • "Equivalent usage" is an illustrative estimate only, based upon an average electricity usage of 223 kWh per home per week (source: Ontario Power Generation). In practice only about 30% of electricity production (in Ontario) is for residential use; the majority is for industrial and commercial customers.

  • "Wholesale value" is based upon an estimate of $0.038/kWh(e) (source: Nucleonics Week, March 1, 2001).

  • "CO2 avoided" is based upon an average emission of 0.85 tonnes of carbon dioxide per MWh(e) of coal-fired electricity generation, the principal energy source displaced by nuclear power in Canada (source: Ontario Power Generation's solar array energy tracking page). Carbon dioxide is a "greenhouse gas" that has been proposed by many scientists to be a significant contributor to global climate change.

  • "NOx avoided" is based upon an average emission of 0.0033 tonnes of nitrogen oxides per MWh(e) of coal-fired electricity generation, the principal energy source displaced by nuclear power in Canada (source: Ontario Power Generation's solar array energy tracking page). Nitrogen oxides are a major ingredient of smog, linked to respiratory illness.

  • "SO2 avoided" is based upon an average emission of 0.0038 tonnes of sulphur dioxide per MWh(e) of coal-fired electricity generation, the principal energy source displaced by nuclear power in Canada (source: Ontario Power Generation's solar array energy tracking page). Sulphur dioxide is a contributor to smog (linked to respiratory illness), as well as acid rain (linked to environmental degradation and property damage).

  • "Particulate air pollution avoided" is based upon an average emission of 0.0012 tonnes of particulate air pollution per MWh(e) of coal-fired electricity generation, the principal energy source displaced by nuclear power in Canada (source: Ontario Power Generation submission to hearings on its 1989 Demand/Supply Plan). Particulate air pollution is linked to respiratory illness. Studies estimate the number of deaths in North America from respiratory illness due to coal-fired electricity generation in the range of 20 to 100 per GWe-year. In Canada this suggests that 300 to 1600 people die each year from domestic coal-fired electricity generation, and that nuclear power, since its inception in Canada, has saved between 4000 and 20,000 lives by displacing coal burning. (These figures are illustrative only; in practice, much of the air pollution found in high-population centres like southern Ontario is blown in from upwind areas of the United States. In turn, much of the pollution created in places like southern Ontario is blown into downwind areas of the United States. Click here for more information from Ontario Power Generation.)

  • "Total weekly air pollution avoided" is the sum of the four contributions to air-pollution avoidance listed above. This number (in tonnes) is roughly the same as total production (in MWhe); therefore, as a rule of thumb, one may say that in Canada, a kilogram of air pollution is avoided for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by nuclear power (which would use 20 milligrams of uranium). This assumes that coal generation is displaced by nuclear generation, as is currently the case in this country.

Compiled by Jeremy Whitlock and Morgan Brown.

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