Chernobyl. Three Mile Island. Fukushima.

While 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl, those disasters seem to be fading from our collective memories. However, they did help put the brakes on global nuclear power growth in recent years.

In Ontario, that is rapidly changing. Maybe it’s because our reactors are largely lauded as safe.

The Ford government is full steam ahead on nuclear expansion, arguing we need the power to meet spiralling demand and our climate targets.

Plans in the works include:

Refurbished reactors at Darlington and Bruce nuclear power stations.

Planned refurbishment of very old reactors in Pickering.

Building one of the world’s largest nuclear stations just east of Port Hope, where radioactive contamination is still being cleaned up.

Building four small modular reactors (SMRs).

The total bill is somewhat hazy, but a York University professor who studies nuclear projects estimates it could be as high as $400 billion. History shows these systems are notorious for costing at least double, with construction taking an average six years longer than scheduled.

I’ve supported keeping existing nuclear in our energy mix. It’s considered a reliable and clean alternative to fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency projects nuclear power will need to provide about 10 per cent of our power by 2050 on the road to net-zero emissions. The remaining 90 per cent would mainly come from renewables like wind, solar and hydro power.

Ontario’s plans for nuclear would mean our reliance would go from half our grid right now, to over 70 per cent with natural gas as back-up. That locks us into years of escalating emissions.

And time is of the essence. We need to cut our pollution as much as possible now to help curb run-away climate disruption. Ontario’s projects are not expected to power up until the 2030s to late 2040s - if they finish on schedule. Meanwhile, new renewables could be up and running in as little as two years or less.

Want lower electricity bills? Don’t hold your breath. The cost of all that nuclear development is already hitting us in the wallet. In November Ontario Power Generation received a 29 per cent increase in the price it gets for power, partly because of nuclear spending. And it just applied for an additional 72.6 per cent increase for nuclear power, to cover the costs of projects at Pickering and Darlington. We may not see that directly on our power bills. The province is likely to bury it in our taxes. Either way, we pay. And pay. And pay.

Meanwhile they’re ignoring the energy that could save us money – renewables like wind and solar with storage. Costs have plummeted – 88 per cent for solar since 2009, and 74 per cent for wind. The world has taken note. Last year 90 per cent of new energy builds were renewable.

What about reliability?  In September, Ontario’s Independent Energy System Operator released a report showing we could meet most of our energy needs with renewables and batteries.

Last April, Spain confirmed it will wind down its nuclear power production because wind and sun can produce “three to four times more power with the same amount of investment.”

Australia has announced it will be giving away free power for three hours a day, starting this summer, because of all that sunshine.

Maybe it’s time we started relying more on that big nuclear reactor in the sky.