Canada power company OPG preparing for similar projects at Pickering and first SMR deployment
The construction phase of refurbishment of the fourth Candu reactor at the Darlington nuclear power station in Ontario, Canada, has been completed with the overall project four months ahead of schedule and CAD150m (€92m, $109m) under the CAD12.8bn budget.
Unit 4 was the final unit to be refurbished in the four-unit project, which began in October 2016 with Unit 2’s refurbishment.
In a statement on 2 February the Ontario government said Unit 4, an 878-MW Candu unit that began commercial operation in 1993, is expected to be restarted later this month. Station staff are now completing final testing ahead of the return to full commercial operation.
The statement said the major project secures over 3,500 MW of clean, reliable, affordable energy for Ontario’s growing and electrified future. It said the project was the world’s largest completed nuclear refurbishment and will generate electricity to power 3.5 million homes and support 14,200 workers for the next 30 years.
The Darlington refurbishment project involved the complete overhaul of all four nuclear reactor units, extending the station’s operating life to at least 2055.
Refurbishment work included replacing thousands of fuel channels, feeder tubes, calandria tubes, and end fittings, as well as rehabilitating other critical components. The project also included system improvements and plant upgrades to meet regulatory requirements.
Nuclear ‘The Backbone’ Of Ontario’s Clean Grid
Nuclear power remains the backbone of Ontario’s clean electricity grid, providing about 50 percent of the province’s electricity supply.
Darlington’s owner and operator, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), said it will use learnings from the project to ensure its small modular reactor (SMR) project at Darlington and the refurbishment of the Pickering nuclear station are also delivered successfully.
In May the Ontario government and OPG approved a plan to build the first of four BWRX-300 SMRs at Darlington.
In November, Ontario gave OPG the formal go-ahead to begin the refurbishment of four nuclear power units at the Pickering nuclear station.
Pickering’s four-unit overhaul mirrors elements of the Darlington nuclear power station’s multi-year life-extension – such as replacing 380 fuel channels per reactor – but with considerable additional complexity. Unlike Darlington, the Pickering project includes the replacement of all 48 steam generators, a first-of-its-kind scope for Ontario’s Candu reactor fleet.
The project also includes construction of a 1.5-km deep-water intake system to secure colder cooling water – an infrastructure element Pickering lacks from its original design.
Stephen Lecce, minister of energy and mines, said: “In a world of uncertainty, our government is doubling down on Canadian nuclear technology and workers, with 96 percent of investment benefiting Ontario’s supply chain.
“It is a tremendous industrial advantage that Canada is among only six nations that own civilian nuclear technology, yet we stand alone as number one in building, operating, and refurbishing projects on-time and on-budget.”
OPG is set to begin the refurbishment of four nuclear power units at the Pickering nuclear station. Courtesy OPG.
