The decision by the Province to postpone building new nuclear reactors in Darlington would carry far more weight if Premier Dalton McGuinty had a Plan B.

Truth is, he doesn't.

The premier has been straightforward on a number of fronts on the energy file: He is committed to closing the coal-fired Nanticoke generating station by 2014 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But with that reduction in energy supply will come the need to create more energy which is where building new nuclear reactors in Darlington would come in.

There are some other options such as increasing our reliance on wind and solar power but nothing comes close to the output the Province would get from nuclear.

And that's why it's hard to completely buy the notion the Province will stick with the plan to postpone building in Darlington.

While the bid for the reactors from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), to quote Energy Minister George Smitherman, "has not provided Ontario with a suitable option at this time," that's not to say things won't change.

Bids were also received from French and American/Japanese firms for the work. But AECL's was the best of a bad lot, according to the minister who said the amount would have to come down by billions of dollars.

There are a number of issues with AECL which has been in the news lately because the federal government has been talking about selling off parts of the corporation. That's why the Province is eager to find out what the future of the corporation holds before making a serious long-term commitment to it.

However, Ontario is clearly going to need to go ahead with more nuclear power in the future. With its desire to be a leader in green, emissions-free energy, the McGuinty government is not going to back away from the need to increase our energy supply.

The decision to build at Darlington has already been made and Ontario Power Generation is currently undergoing the process of conducting the environmental assessment for the new build.

While the Province may try to negotiate with the federal government over price and the future of AECL, the long-term needs of Ontarians will eventually require a nuclear solution. Darlington offers the very best option available to the Province. It's just a matter of finding the right price because there is no Plan B, only a plan to build more nuclear.