A major refurbishment project at Unit 1 of the Darington nuclear power station in Ontario, Canda, has been completed five months ahead of schedule, station owner and operator Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said.
Darlington-1, an 878-MW Candu pressurised heavy water reactor unit, is the third of four units to be refurbished at the four-unit Darlington station and will soon be returned to the grid, OPG said.
The CAD12.8bn ($9.1bn, €8.7bn) “mega-project” to refurbish all four units is on track to be completed by 2026 and will provide 30 more years of “low-carbon, reliable, and affordable power for Ontario”, according to OPG.
Darlington-1, which began commercial operation in 1992, was taken offline for refurbishment in February 2022. Before this, it ran for more than 1,000 days straight, setting a world record for continuous operation of a nuclear power reactor.
Darlington-2 and -3 were successfully refurbished in 2020 and 2023.
Darlington-4, the final unit undergoing refurbishment, is in the reactor rebuilding phase and progressing on schedule to be completed by the end of 2026 to wrap up the 10-year project.
