Future of Nuclear Industry in Canada

doublemint

Give what happened in Japan, Bruce Power leaving Alberta and CANDU reactors sold to SNC-Lavalin, what do you guys think?

I am planning to do graduate studies in Nuke Eng, but given what is going on Canada, I might have to rethink my plans, unless you guys believe some sort of nuclear renaissance will happen.

DM

etudiant

I cannot see anything that would provide the energy that 7+ billion people need other than nuclear.
Imho this is a little bit like coming into Wall Street after the 1974 bear market, a great time to be getting really good at the profession, because by the time you graduate, the need will be even more inescapable.

nikkkom

Thanks to previous generation on nuclear industry as a whole which failed to prevent large-scale disasters, nuclear power generation seriously risks eventually being supplanted by renewables.

I hope after F1 nuclear industry will finally understand: meltdowns are NOT tolerable - politically and socially. They must be prevented. Reactors must be made safer still. If nuclear industry will get it, then it maybe still has a chance.

jim hardy

I personally thnk there will be a nuclear renaissance but i'm no "see-er".

If nuclear power interests you, consider take control courses and look into instrumentation side of things.
In US a typical power plant employs just a couple nuclear engineers but scores of mechanical and electrical. Somebody who has knowledge of electronics, control theory, some basic mechanical (Statics & dynamics & strength of materials) and fundamentals of reactor physics is quite useful to a plant not only just those skills but as a catalyst, helping other disciplines cpmmunicate.
And those skills would transfer to any mechanized industry.

Synergy. It makes industry run smoother.

doublemint

I like the sound of this. However, I find that many people (the general public) are frighten by nuclear activists causing them to go against building any nuclear power plants.
There was a poster I saw at my university that said many people in Alberta are against nuclear power especially after Fukushima. Furthermore, these power plants take a very long time to build.
So I am skeptical about whether if there will be a great demand for nuclear engineers/scientists when I graduate.

Thats a good idea. I think I could take some of those courses during my masters..