RC124 MayJun 2026 - Magazine - Page 18
NUCLEAR ENERGY
“Other Canadian provinces and global jurisdictions are seeking
our expertise to deploy SMRs as a solution for their energy security
needs, making this project a platform for further growth.”
Darlington Refurbishment Project
In early February Ontario Power Generation (OPG) celebrated the
successful completion of the Darlington Refurbishment project four
months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget, marking
the completion of the world’s largest refurbishment project to-date.
Unit 4 was the 昀椀nal unit to be refurbished in the four-unit, $12.8-billion megaproject, which kicked o昀昀 in October 2016 with Unit 2’s
refurbishment. With 昀椀nal testing completed, the generating station
has returning to full commercial operation. Darlington provides approximately 20 per cent of Ontario’s electricity and will deliver more
than 3,500 megawatts of emission-free electricity with all four units
refurbished and back online—enough to power 3.5 million homes for
at least 30 more years.
“This is a momentous achievement for OPG, Ontario, and Canada,”
said Nicolle Butcher, OPG’s president and CEO. “Through this project,
we have demonstrated to the world that complex nuclear projects can
be completed successfully, ahead of schedule and under budget. Our
experience on this refurbishment, and the thousands of lessons we
have learned, will serve as our foundation as we advance nuclear’s
future. Darlington’s refurbishment has given us the con昀椀dence, the
tools, and the skills to forge ahead.”
The project’s success re昀氀ects a decade of meticulous planning and
preparation, all of which took place before any work began. This included the construction of the world’s 昀椀rst full-scale reactor mock-up,
which helped train and prepare workers before they stepped into the
reactor vault.
18—RENEW CANADA – MAY/JUNE 2026
The project also bene昀椀ted from the close collaboration of key project
partners, vendors, thousands of skilled trades workers, including
Indigenous workers recruited through OPG’s Indigenous Opportunities Network, and e昀케ciencies and lessons learned from each successful
unit overhauled.
Since the project began in 2016, over 23 million hours of work were
completed by Aecon and its joint venture partner, Candu Energy, an
AtkinsRéalis company, to apply lessons learned on each subsequent
unit to achieve e昀케ciencies and schedule savings. The team expertly
replaced and rehabilitated thousands of components while leveraging
an industry-昀椀rst combined pressure tube and calandria tube removal
process.
Work on the 10-year project included:
960 END FITTINGS removed in each reactor
1,920 FUEL CHANNELS installed in each reactor
3,840 FEEDER TUBES removed and replaced across all four units
6,240 FUEL BUNDLES loaded into each reactor’s fuel channels
23 MILLION HOURS of work executed without a lost-time incident
“Delivering the world’s largest nuclear refurbishment project safely
and four months ahead of schedule provides a model for major nuclear projects on a global scale,” said Aaron Johnson, Senior Vice President, Nuclear, Aecon Group Inc. “This trailblazing project signi昀椀cantly
contributed to the evolution of Ontario’s world-class nuclear supply
chain and the growth of Ontario’s skilled workforce – providing lasting economic bene昀椀ts.”
During the construction phase, the project contributed an estimated
RENEWCANADA.NET
OPG
Once the four small modular reactor units are completed, the Darlington New Nuclear Project will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Inset: Ontario Power Generation has selected the GE Hitachi BWRX-300 as the small modular reactor technology for its Darlington New Nuclear project.
