‘Tis the Season: OPG distributed a cornucopia of community sponsorships just before the holiday break, to complete its 2018 round of support to Bruce-area programs and initiatives. Group presentations occurred in Saugeen Shores and in Kincardine, with cheques benefitting many worthy recipients: Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre’s Family Heritage Day, Eco Explorers and Summer Exhibit; Women’s House Serving Bruce and Grey; Salvation Army Food Bank; Penetangore Watershed Group;local Santa Claus parades; the Breakers Swim Team; Saugeen Shores Minor Hockey Girls Pee Wee House League; Pumpkinfest; Rotary Shore Run; Kincardine Community Achievement Awards Gala (OPG Environment Award); Robbie Burns Fundraising Dinner (for Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band); Kincardine District Secondary School Association Science Room Tech Wall; Blues in the Schools; Kincardine Local Senior Games; and Kincardine district Food Bank. These sponsorships were in addition to scores of others given throughout the past year.
Warming up: In December, OPG completed a six-month series of upgrades to its incinerator at the Western Waste Management Facility, to ensure the device is in top working order and can continue, for years to come, to reduce waste volumes stored at the Bruce nuclear site. The incinerator plays a key role in OPG’s environmental commitments, keeping emissions far below regulatory limits, and making a significant contribution to maintaining the smallest possible footprint of WWMF storage buildings. Through January, commissioning will be underway as the incinerator comes back into service.
Around Ontario:
- Labour relations: The Ontario legislature reconvened this week to consider its response to the strike notice given to OPG last week by the Power Workers Union (PWU). OPG remains committed to achieving fair and reasonable agreements with its workers, and to the safe and efficient operation of its generating stations.
- High praise: In her report this month, Ontario Auditor-General Bonnie Lysykpraised OPG’s $12.8 billion Darlington Refurbishment project for its “clear accountability structure” as an example of something that “works well.” Lysyk stated that OPG is “diligently managing timelines, costs and risks” for the refurbishment, which will help ensure a reliable source of low-cost, clean energy for ratepayers for the next 30 years.
- Small is beautiful: Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are an exciting innovation that could become an important contributor to the world’s supply of clean energy. In November, the federal government issued an SMR Roadmap, pointing the way forward for implementation of these high-tech and compact reactors, a field in which Canada can be a global leader. OPG experts contributed to this roadmap, with participation on committees that explored future solutions, including a way forward for responsible waste management.
- Supporting brilliance: OPG’s winter issue of PowerNews, posted atwww.opg.com, includes updates on a wide array of company initiatives. You can read all about the successful completion of OPG’s acquisition in the U.S. of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, progress on building the Nanticoke Solar Facility, and OPG’s work with brilliant grad students at the University of Waterloo to develop robots that inspect reactor innards.
