Eight new nuclear reactors could be built in Ontario if older ones cannot be properly refurbished.
The new nuclear power generating plants are part of the Ontario government's plan to wean the province off coal-fired electricity and move towards what it sees as clean nuclear energy.
The new plants are also part of the government's plan to have a maximum of 26 reactors ready for action.
Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan said Tuesday that two new reactors are needed.
"Bottom line, we are reducing our reliance on electricity under the integrated power system plan from roughly 50 to 40 per cent in terms of capacity," Duncan said.
That means the long-range plan is for about 40 per cent of Ontario's electricity to come from nuclear generation.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said despite the new reactors, the province's reliance on nuclear power will actually decrease.
"If we can get away with more refurbishment and less new, then I think that's a preference. But if we can't refurbish, you know safety comes first in this matter, then that will call for more new nuclear reactors," McGuinty said.
Opponents to the plan say McGuinty's government is ignoring the massive costs and the tones of dangerous nuclear waste piling up in Ontario.
"I think they're being way too aggressive," NDP critic Peter Tabuns said.
"I think they're making a mistake. They're betting Ontario's future on an expensive technology that has safety and waste problems."
Tabuns argues Ontario would not need the extra nuclear reactors if the government would spend the billions of dollars required on developing clean energy sources and helping industry to use more energy-efficient machines.
Duncan said the plan does not allow for new reactors to be built on sites that do not already have nuclear facilities.
The question of nuclear waste still must be dealt with. Most of the province's radioactive waste is stored above ground at the Pickering facility.
One proposal being considered would bury the waste deep underground.
With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss
