The Dawn of Enduring Power And A Legacy of Light for Generations

Edwin O. Paña

Building systems that endure: From geothermal energy rooted in Indigenous partnership, to firm power from Small Modular Reactors and long-duration storage through zinc innovation, this image captures a vision of clean, reliable energy guided by respect for the land and responsibility to future generations. It reflects the belief that true progress lies not only in technology, but in the wisdom to build legacies that outlast us and scatter light far into the future.

In the quiet corners of our laboratories and deep within the crystalline rock of the Canadian Shield, a quiet revolution is unfolding. For years, the global energy conversation has been dominated by the "intermittent"—the sun that eventually sets and the wind that lulls. But as we stand in late 2025, the narrative has shifted toward Clean Firm Power: technologies designed not just to spark, but to endure.

For those of us who believe in "gathering light to scatter," these developments are more than technical milestones; they are the building blocks of a sustainable brotherhood between humanity and the planet. This is not just about a change in how we power our homes; it is a change in how we honor our future.

1. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs): The New Canadian Standard

Canada has emerged as the global vanguard for the nuclear renaissance. Unlike the massive, bespoke reactors of the past, SMRs are factory-built, standardized, and designed for a 60-to-80-year "lifetime" of service.

• The Darlington Milestone: Here in Ontario, the Darlington New Nuclear Project is setting the pace for the G7. As of late 2025, the project has transitioned from site preparation to active construction of the first GE Hitachi BWRX-300 unit. With all site grading complete and foundation modules being assembled, we are on track to see 1.2 million homes powered by this unwavering, carbon-free light by the end of the decade.

• Purpose-Driven Infrastructure: Beyond the grid, SMRs are being viewed through the lens of "wisdom and purpose"—providing a steady pulse of energy that can desalinize water, create green hydrogen, and provide the high-heat industrial power necessary for a zero-carbon economy.

2. Deep Geothermal: Harvesting the Earth’s Heartbeat

If we are to talk about "timeless" energy, we must look beneath our feet. Geothermal is the ultimate baseload power—the Earth’s own heartbeat, which never turns off.

• Western Ingenuity: In Alberta and British Columbia, the "Sleeping Giant" of geothermal is finally waking up. Projects like Alberta No. 1 are repurposing the drilling expertise of the oil and gas sector to tap into heat reservoirs kilometers deep.

• The Circular Legacy: By turning old oil wells into generative thermal assets, we are transforming the "extractive" history of our land into an "enduring" future. It is a literal manifestation of gathering the Earth’s internal heat to scatter warmth across our communities.

3. Long-Duration Storage: The Zinc & Iron Revolution

The final piece of the puzzle is how we store the light we gather. While standard batteries fade, 2025 has seen the rise of Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) using abundant, non-toxic materials like zinc and iron.

• The Toronto Trailblazer: Toronto-based e-Zinc has once again been recognized on the Global Cleantech 100 list. Their breakthrough technology uses "reversible rusting" of zinc to store energy for days rather than hours. Because zinc is abundant and fully recyclable, it represents a "lifetime" infrastructure asset that does not rely on rare-earth minerals.

4. The Foundation of Cohesiveness: Indigenous Partnership

A project can only truly be "enduring" if it is built on a foundation of mutual respect and shared prosperity. In 2025, the most successful Canadian energy stories are those written in equity partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leaders.

• True Sovereignty: The Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal project in BC, fully owned by the Fort Nelson First Nation, is a beacon of this new reality. By harvesting "boiling water" from a former gas field, the community is not just producing power; they are producing independence.

• Economic Reconciliation: From the First Nations Power Authority’s role in SMR planning to the landmark Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, we are moving toward a cohesive national identity where the wealth generated by the land stays with the original stewards of the land.

A Reflection on Stewardship

When I finalized the reflections for my book, Echoes of Light, I was struck by a quiet but enduring truth: real wisdom is not measured by what we build for ourselves, but by the systems we leave behind for those who come after us. The highest form of progress is not speed or scale alone, but continuity. It is the ability of an idea, an institution, or a technology to serve generations beyond our own brief stewardship of time.

In this light, technologies such as Small Modular Reactors, geothermal energy, and zinc based storage stand apart. They are described as “firm” not merely because they generate power, but because they provide stability. They anchor modern societies against volatility, intermittency, and short term thinking. They do not depend on favorable conditions or fleeting abundance. They endure.

They are equally “clean” not only in emissions, but in intent. They acknowledge the Earth’s limits rather than defy them. They draw from what is steady, abundant, and regenerative, aligning human ingenuity with planetary patience. These systems do not extract recklessly. They cooperate.

Yet technology alone does not define wisdom. When technical innovation is paired with the social innovation of Indigenous partnership, something deeper emerges. We create a legacy that is not only structurally sound, but morally resonant. Such partnerships recognize lived stewardship, ancestral knowledge, and the long view of land and responsibility. They transform infrastructure into relationship, and progress into trust.

To build in this way is to practice intergenerational ethics. It is to accept that our role is not to dominate the future, but to prepare it. In doing so, we ensure that the light we gather today is scattered far into the future, illuminating paths we ourselves may never walk, and guiding generations yet to come.

Resources & Supporting Insights

• Ontario’s SMR Progress: OPG Darlington New Nuclear (2025 Updates)

• Indigenous Equity: First Nations Power Authority (FNPA) - Clean Energy Leadership

• Geothermal Innovation: Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal Project (Fort Nelson First Nation)

• Energy Storage Milestones: eZinc: The Future of Long-Duration Storage

• Author’s Journey: Echoes of Light: Essays and Reflections

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