RC124 MayJun 2026 - Magazine - Page 17
NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Ontario has big plans to increase its nuclear energy capacity
by John Tenpenny
OPG
The Darlington Refurbishment
included the construction
of the world’s first full-scale
reactor mock-up, which helped
train and prepare workers
before they stepped into the
reactor vault.
HE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO’S blueprint for ensuring it has
enough electricity to power its future relies heavily
on nuclear energy and advancing new nuclear projects is a key pillar of it plans, which envision an electricity system that is 75-per-cent nuclear in terms of
output, up from approximately 50 per cent today.
Included in these plans are two projects—one recently
completed and another well underway.
Ontario Power Generation’s $12.8-billion Darlington
T
RENEWCANADA.NET
Nuclear Generating Station Refurbishment project was
completed four months ahead of schedule and $150
million under budget and involved the complete overhaul
of all four nuclear reactor units, extending the station’s
operating life to at least 2055.
The Darlington New Nuclear Project will see the construction of four small modular reactors (SMRs), the 昀椀rst gridscale SMRs in the G7, which will produce 1,200 megawatts
(MW) of electricity, enough to power 1.2 million homes.
John Tenpenny is the
editor of ReNew Canada.
john@SiteMediaGroup.
MAY/JUNE 2026 – RENEW CANADA 17
