On Queen Street: new president of Canadian Nuclear Association excited about emerging technology for industry
By Jesse Cnockaert
Originally published in The Lobby Monitor, May 15, 2019
As Canada works to reduce its carbon footprint, John Gorman sees his background in the solar power industry as something that will be of benefit in his new role as president of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA).
“It’s going to take more than wind and solar and battery storage to meet all of the challenges that we’re facing when it comes to decarbonizing the electricity system and meeting this growing demand globally,” said Gorman, who took over at CNA on May 13. “From where I come from, I just can’t see how we can meet those challenges without nuclear energy. So, when the opportunity came to lead the CNA, particularly at this time when there are exciting new technologies in nuclear coming out, I thought it was an important opportunity to be able to contribute and promote Canadian technology here and abroad.”
Gorman takes over the position from former president John Barrett, and is currently registering to lobby on behalf of CNA.
He comes to CNA after more than seven years as president of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, the trade group that represents the solar energy industry across Canada.
Now with CNA, Gorman will be leading the organization that represents Canada’s nuclear industry.
Gorman may have switched his professional allegiance to a different source of electricity generation, but he considers both solar and nuclear as renewable forms of energy. He said his involvement in the energy industry stems from a personal desire to contribute in some way to climate change solutions.
“I think there’s a lot of work that has to continue in terms of educating the public about the role nuclear plays in Canada and can continue to play globally,” he said. “We’re going to need everything we’ve got in terms of clean energy for these problems.”
Two of CNA’s priorities in their discussions with the federal government are the international trade of nuclear technology, and greenhouse-gas emissions trading under Canada’s commitment in the Kyoto Protocol, the registry shows.
In the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty signed in 1997, countries accepted targets for limiting or reducing carbon emissions. Any countries with emission units to spare – emissions that are permitted but not used – can engage in “emissions trading,” where those units are sold to other countries that have exceeded their targets.
Gorman also sees this as an important time for the nuclear industry because of the emerging small modular reactors (SMRs) industry. SMRs are nuclear fission reactors designed to be smaller in size than conventional nuclear reactors, and can therefore be produced in larger numbers. These reactors are made to be portable and scalable, so that nuclear energy can be taken to smaller power grids and off-grid areas, like northern communities and reserves.
In November 2018, Natural Resources released the SMR Roadmap, a document intended to establish a long-term vision for Canada’s nuclear industry. In the roadmap, Canada is described as having “one of the world’s most promising domestic markets for SMRs,” and places the potential value for SMRs in Canada at approximately $5.3 billion between 2025 and 2040.
Natural Resources called SMRs an emerging global market that could be valued at approximately $150 billion per year by 2040, in a news release accompanying the roadmap.
Gorman’s background in energy also includes more than six years representing Canada’s solar industry as a member of the executive committee of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA is a policy advisory organization made up of 30 member countries to promote clean energy and share ideas for best practices.
He is also a former board member of the Green Ontario Fund, which prior to its cancellation in 2018 by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, was a non-profit provincial agency tasked with reducing greenhouse gas pollution in buildings and industry to help the province meet emission reduction targets.
