The rush for Canada’s bituminous sands is a boost for nuclear power. Enormous quantities of power are needed to heat the sands to extract the oil. The current sources of power – gas- and oil-fired plants – release large quantities of CO₂ and are thus a major source of pollution. In early 2008, Bruce Power, a private nuclear utility that supplies one fifth of Ontario's electricity, applied for a license from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to build four nuclear power plants in Alberta. The application follows a decision by the Canadian federal government to prohibit the construction of new coal-fired plants beginning in 2011, unless their greenhouse gases are captured and sequestered underground. That requirement increases the cost of the megawatt-hour from coal by 50% compared with nuclear power, according to Bruce Power CEO Duncan Hawthorne.