In September, the OLIP Interns had the pleasure of meeting virtually with John Peevers, Director of Corporate Communications, and Clint Thomas, Manager of Government Relations from Bruce Power, one of our long-term programme partners. We left the meeting with a better understanding of nuclear power generation, but a longing to learn more. Thankfully, a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit the Bruce Power site located just north of Tiverton, Ontario.
We departed Toronto early in the morning on the day of our tour to make our way to Bruce Power, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Southwestern Ontario along the way. When we arrived at Bruce Power, we received a warm welcome from Jim Troyak and Clint Thomas. We then watched a comprehensive presentation on the history of nuclear power in Ontario, its current uses, and its future potential. We learned that Bruce Power generates about 30% of the province’s electricity through emission-free and low-cost electricity, all through nuclear power. Through its technology, Bruce Power is tackling the challenges of climate change and global energy demand. The presentation gave us a taste of what we were about to witness on our tour.
With our hard hats, safety goggles, and safety boots on, we were off to start our tour. From the size of its facility, to the high degree of safety precautions, to the attention to operational detail, witnessing Bruce Power’s operations first-hand was absolutely fascinating. We were fortunate enough to get a behind-the-scenes look at the nuclear reactors, the primary control room, and even the infrastructure used to produce medical isotopes!
In addition to producing carbon-free electricity for Ontarians, Bruce Power produces isotopes such as Cobalt-60 and Lutetium-177. These isotopes are revolutionary for meeting health care needs around the world, including for sterilizing single-use medical devices and treating cancer. While Bruce Power continues to produce clean energy for Ontario, it is also involved with many innovative initiatives to leverage nuclear power for the future.
We ended off the tour with a nice lunch and left Bruce Power with a much deeper understanding of the potential of nuclear power. A big thank you to Lisa Haight, Jim Troyak and Clint Thomas for facilitating this tour! It was certainly a highlight of our year!
