​NII conference spotlights regional leadership in Canada’s clean energy future

More than 150 leaders from across the nuclear industry, municipal government, education, business and community sectors, gathered this week for the second annual Clean Energy Frontier Conference, hosted by the Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII).

Over two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) at the NII Advance Technology Campus, located in the Bruce Energy Centre, northwest of Tiverton, participants explored how the region’s clean energy projects are driving economic growth, workforce opportunities and innovation that will help Canada meet its future energy demands.

In his keynote address, Eric Chassard, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bruce Power, spoke about the province’s growing energy needs and the company’s ongoing efforts to meet them.

“We will deliver on Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program and innovative approaches to increasing power generation output — while focusing on finding efficiencies throughout our operations and keeping workers safe,” he said. “Yes, it’s hard work, but that’s how you secure the future. So, my question to you is: Are you ready?”

The event featured sessions on workforce trends, youth engagement, isotope eco-system development and regional growth. Highlights participants heard include:
 

• Nearly 2,700 full-time-equivalent jobs in Kincardine and Saugeen Shores could be created or supported annually over the lifetime of the proposed Bruce “C” project, according to an interim report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.
• Net support for nuclear energy has almost doubled since 2022 — polling insights from the Innovative Research Group show that nuclear energy has seen the greatest increase in support of any form of power generation in consideration in Ontario.
• Municipalities, energy sector partners, service providers and other regional leaders heard actionable take-aways from a community resiliency study undertaken by the Bruce Power Nexus Research Centre, hosted at NII — key among these, was the collaboration that must continue to grow between all of these groups as communities manage sustainable growth.

“At NII, we are collaborative at our core,” said Jessica Linthorne, president and CEO. “Today, in this room, we have more than 150 professionals from the nuclear industry, elected officials, community leaders, academic and service partners, vendors and entrepreneurs. I cannot think of another sector conference that welcomes this diverse of an audience.”