Ontario nuclear plant starts 'locally-focused' carbon offset co-op

Bruce Power aims to keep carbon offsets local The Bruce County plant has started a Carbon Offset Co-op, hoping to spend carbon credit money at home. CTV London's Scott Miller reports.

Wingham, Ont. — Bruce Power wants to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2027. That means they want to reduce as much of their carbon emissions as possible and offset the rest -- and they're looking for ideas.

Instead of buying carbon credits in the expanding North American or even international carbon market though, the Bruce County-based nuclear plant wants to keep that “carbon” money in Ontario.

“Let’s take the money we would have spent buying carbon credits, and let’s set up a grassroots model in western Ontario where we can work with the community -- the agricultural community and local companies -- to identify local projects to keep that money within our region,” says James Scongack, Bruce Power’s executive vice president of Corporate Affairs and Operational Services.

Whether it’s carbon capture technologies, or carbon sinks (anything that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases), Bruce Power is interested in joining forces to not only reach its own 2027 net zero goal, but to start or expand projects that will both remove and offset carbon emissions for the entire region.

“Are there items we can support in the agricultural sector that will actually be more of a carbon sink, to absorb more carbon? Tree planting, habitat restoration, wetland restoration, items in the Great Lakes and algae, things like that,” says Scongack.

Bruce Power is accepting ideas until September here, with funding to begin next year.

“I think this is a model that could do more. Maybe there are other industries that want to come in and participate. We’re happy to do that,” says Scongack.

Canada has set a goal for the entire country to be net zero by 2050.