Bruce Power is celebrating 20 years as the country's first private nuclear operator.
In a release the company says the first 11 years were dedicated to restarting Units 1-4, increasing the lifespan of the eight-unit site to 2035.
Over the next two decades, Units 3-8 will be refurbished, ensuring the site will be generating electricity and medical isotopes through 2064.
In honour of today's anniversary, Bruce Power is donating $25,000 each to Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce, Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce, and the Blyth Festival on behalf of its employees.
“Today, we are taking the time to celebrate our accomplishments of the past 20 years,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s President and CEO in a release this morning. “Thanks to the investments being made into the Bruce Power site today we can also look to the future and realize a vital role in providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity to Ontario, life-saving medical isotopes to the world, and the integral role we will continue to play in contributing to a net-zero Canada by 2050, while growing the economy and fostering innovation for decades to come."
Local politicians also congratulated the power generator including Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson.
“I remember in the ’90s when the Bruce A units were shut down, the tremendous impact it had on the local economy,” Thompson said. “When Bruce Power took control of the site in 2001, they had a long-term vision and a commitment to the community that has left a lasting positive impact on our small towns. Bruce Power’s success has attracted many more companies to the region, and has demonstrated that good quality, high-tech jobs can be sustained in small-town Ontario.”
The province's associate energy minister, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker credits Bruce Power with transitioning the community from "a dark period into an era of nuclear innovation."
“Over the past 20 years, Bruce Power has helped our community transition from a dark period into an era of nuclear innovation that delivers clean, reliable energy, secures high-skilled, sustainable jobs, and promotes local economic growth and healthy communities,” Walker said. “From producing life-saving medical isotopes to generously donating more than two million pieces of PPE and funding to local food banks since the start of the pandemic, Bruce Power is a shining example of civic and corporate responsibility during these tough times. I look forward to many more decades of success at Bruce Power.”
