I had a feature in the Toronto Star this past weekend about how environmental concerns over the expansion of nuclear power may turn out to be a secondary threat to the industry. Perhaps a bigger problem is the renaissance itself — the rush to build and the lack of resources available to do it. Particularly when you consider that the developers of coal plants, oil sands projects, etc… are also competing against each other for steel, copper, concrete, skills, etc… Certainly the industry could feel a crunch, and while we’ll see some plants get built, rising costs and the logistical nightmare of doing new builds could make the financial risks so high that utilities around the world reconsider their build-out plans.

I have a companion story looking at the various steps Ontario must go through before it begins building its first new reactors. The main story was inspired by one that appeared in the New York Times on July 10.

I had a feature in the Toronto Star this past weekend about how environmental concerns over the expansion of nuclear power may turn out to be a secondary threat to the industry. Perhaps a bigger problem is the renaissance itself — the rush to build and the lack of resources available to do it. Particularly when you consider that the developers of coal plants, oil sands projects, etc… are also competing against each other for steel, copper, concrete, skills, etc… Certainly the industry could feel a crunch, and while we’ll see some plants get built, rising costs and the logistical nightmare of doing new builds could make the financial risks so high that utilities around the world reconsider their build-out plans.

I have a companion story looking at the various steps Ontario must go through before it begins building its first new reactors. The main story was inspired by one that appeared in the New York Times on July 10.

My Clean Break column recognizes the recent article in The Economist that takes a shot at Toronto and its budget woes. The U.K. magazine argues that Canada’s largest city should implement congesting tolls as a way to raise money for public transit and road infrastructure upgrades. Unfortunately, Toronto Mayor David Miller remains against such tolls, and provides a number of reasons why, in his mind, they won’t work. But by and large, his concerns are with the technology being used, not the concept of imposing congestion tolls. Instead of a system that uses electronic gateways that charge people as they enter a zone, Toronto could also explore using a GPS-based system that charges drivers based on the number of kilometres driven, time of day, emissions-profile of vehicles, etc. This is a much more flexible solution that can be implemented not just downtown but citywide. My column is partly based on an interview with the CEO of Toronto-based Skymeter Corp., a start-up venture that has designed such a solution and believes it can help its home town take a lead with the technology. But alas, it seems Skymeter has attracted more interest from London and Singapore than its home town.

My Clean Break column recognizes the recent article in The Economist that takes a shot at Toronto and its budget woes. The U.K. magazine argues that Canada’s largest city should implement congesting tolls as a way to raise money for public transit and road infrastructure upgrades. Unfortunately, Toronto Mayor David Miller remains against such tolls, and provides a number of reasons why, in his mind, they won’t work. But by and large, his concerns are with the technology being used, not the concept of imposing congestion tolls. Instead of a system that uses electronic gateways that charge people as they enter a zone, Toronto could also explore using a GPS-based system that charges drivers based on the number of kilometres driven, time of day, emissions-profile of vehicles, etc. This is a much more flexible solution that can be implemented not just downtown but citywide. My column is partly based on an interview with the CEO of Toronto-based Skymeter Corp., a start-up venture that has designed such a solution and believes it can help its home town take a lead with the technology. But alas, it seems Skymeter has attracted more interest from London and Singapore than its home town.

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