A public hearing has begun for what could be Canada’s first grid-scale small modular nuclear reactor (SMR).

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission began the first part of a two-part public hearing on 2 October on Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) proposed plan to build a 300-MW SMR at its existing Darlington nuclear site.

If approved, the unit would be the first new nuclear reactor built in Ontario in a generation and would produce enough nuclear energy to power 300,000 homes.

OPG ultimately hopes to build a fleet of four SMRs at Darlington, with the goal of delivering 1,200 MW of nuclear-generated electricity – enough to power 1.2 million homes.

The early works phase of site preparation has been completed at Darlington, where the first SMR is scheduled to go online by 2028.