RC124 MayJun 2026 - Magazine - Page 19
OPG
$14.9 billion to Ontario’s GDP, with 96 per cent of project spending
retained in the province.
“Ontario is proving to the world that we can deliver major nuclear
energy projects on-time and on-budget,” said Stephen Lecce, Ontario
Minister of Energy and Mines. “Completing the full Darlington refurbishment on-time and under-budget is a made-in-Canada win for our
economy, generating $90 billion in economic bene昀椀ts and supporting
14,200 good-paying jobs. In a world of uncertainty, our government
is doubling down on Canadian nuclear technology and workers, with
96 per cent of investment bene昀椀ting Ontario’s supply chain. It is a tremendous industrial advantage that Canada is among only six nations
that own civilian nuclear technology.”
Darlington New Nuclear Project
With the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP), the Government
of Ontario and OPG are building the G7’s 昀椀rst grid-connected small
modular reactor (SMR). Once the four units are completed, the project
will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power
the equivalent of 1.2 million homes.
Earlier this year Ontario and the federal government announced $3
billion in investments for the project, including a $1 billion provincial
investment through the Building Ontario Fund and a $2 billion federal
investment through the Canada Growth Fund, respectively.
OPG remains the majority owner and operator of the Darlington
New Nuclear Project, with Canada Growth Fund and Building Ontario Fund acquiring meaningful minority stakes in the Project, representing 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent ownership, respectively.
“With the province’s robust nuclear supply chain and our successful
track record on nuclear projects, particularly our Darlington Refur-
RENEWCANADA.NET
bishment, we are con昀椀dent we will be able to deliver the 昀椀rst SMR
unit for Ontario, on-time and on-budget,” said OPG president and
CEO Nicolle Butrcher.
“The Darlington New Nuclear Project will help meet growing
demand for low-carbon energy, and provide signi昀椀cant economic
bene昀椀ts for Ontarians and Canadians, creating jobs and securing
contracts across the province’s robust nuclear supply chain,” said
Nicolle Butcher, OPG president and CEO. “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.”
The SMRs will be BWRX-300s from GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear
Energy, which announced plans to establish a cutting-edge Canadian
Engineering and Service Centre in the Durham region near the DNNP
site, planned to be operational by 2027.
The planned engineering and service centre will include a state-of-theart virtual reality simulator and provide training capabilities to support safe and e昀케cient SMR refueling and maintenance evolutions. The
facility will develop advanced maintenance and inspection technologies tailored to the simpler SMR units and serve as an outage planning
and execution preparation center for BWRX-300 reactors.
Construction on the 昀椀rst SMR began in May 2025, with the SMR expected to come online in 2030. The funding will support the construction and operation of the 昀椀rst SMR with an innovative model to allow
for additional private sector and Indigenous investment.
The project team has been busy preparing for this pivotal moment,
including advancing site preparation work and procuring long-lead
components.
To support a 昀氀eet of SMRs, the DNNP team has worked to secure
several long-lead items, including the reactor pressure vessel. As the
SMR’s largest component—measuring over 30 metres in length and
over six metres in diameter and weighing 550 tonnes—the vessel will
contain the reactor core, coolant, and support structures.
Meanwhile, the generator rotor—a key component of the turbine-generator system that converts heat from the reactor into electrical power—has been forged and is now undergoing pre-machining.
It’s expected to arrive at the project site by summer 2027.
Last summer, the project’s tunnel boring machine—nicknamed
“Harriett Brooks” after Canada’s 昀椀rst female nuclear physicist—arrived from Germany at the new nuclear site and was assembled in
early 2026. The massive machine will be used to drill the condenser
cooling water tunnel, which will measure 3.4 kilometres long and 6.05
metres in diameter.
MAY/JUNE 2026 – RENEW CANADA 19
