The Bruce nuclear power plant. (Photo: Bruce Power)

Canada’s Bruce Power, operator of Ontario’s eight-unit Bruce nuclear power plant, has announced the issuance of C$600 million (about $446.3 million) in green bonds in support of the company’s net-zero-by-2027 goal. (Investopedia defines green bonds as fixed-income instruments specifically earmarked to raise money for environmentally friendly projects.)

The company issued an initial C$500 million (about $371.8 million) in green bonds in 2021, becoming the first nuclear operator in the world to successfully enter the green bond world.

According to Bruce Power, its Green Financing Framework is designed to guide future issues of green bonds for eligible investments associated with the life-extension program at the Bruce plant and with uprates for its CANDU reactors.

What they’re saying: “It has become more clear that there is no path to net zero without large-scale nuclear, here and around the world,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s president and chief executive officer. “Ontario has established itself as a world leader in the production of clean energy and clean energy projects, such as our major component replacement, which is part of our life-extension program that will see Bruce Power continue to provide clean energy and medical isotopes to people, businesses, and hospitals for decades to come while also stimulating the economy.”

Kevin Kelly, the company’s chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance and business development, noted that “Bruce Power’s green bonds allow investors to participate in climate-friendly critical power infrastructure investment to extend the life of the Bruce Power site.”

In case you missed it: Last July, Ontario Power Generation updated its Green Bond Framework to include nuclear energy in recognition of the role the technology stands to play in helping the company reach its decarbonization goals. (OPG’s climate change plan, established in 2020, commits the firm to achieving net-zero carbon emission status by 2040.)

With the addition of nuclear to the framework, said the company, proceeds from OPG bonds can now be used for the Darlington nuclear plant refurbishment project.