AECL focuses its energies to win domestic market
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO - Atomic Energy of Canada Limited announced that it is focusing its marketing and licensing resources for the Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR-1000) on the immediate needs of the Canadian domestic marketplace.
"The nuclear renaissance has taken hold in Canada as several Canadian provinces are currently considering the ACR as the technology-of-choice for the next generation nuclear technology," says AECL's President and Chief Executive Officer Hugh MacDiarmid. "We believe very strongly that our best course of action to ensure the ACR-1000 is successful in the global market place is to focus first and foremost on establishing it here at home."
Given this new direction, AECL has notified the United Kingdom's nuclear regulators that it will suspend participation of its ACR design in Step 3 of the UK's new build reactor Generic Design Assessment but may re-enter at a later date. The UK regulators - the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency - had announced in March that the ACR and AECL's design program had passed the Step 2 assessment of stringent safety, security and environmental criteria and was eligible to proceed to Step 3.
Mr. MacDiarmid added, "We want to dedicate our resources for the ACR to the markets in Canada. By taking this action now we are well positioned to meet our customer's expectations for product performance, as well as on time and on budget project delivery. We continue to actively pursue opportunities for our CANDU 6 product in several international markets."
Related News

Court reinstates constitutional challenge to Ontario's hefty ‘global adjustment’ electricity charge
TORONTO - Ontario’s court of appeal has decided that a constitutional challenge of a steep provincial electricity charge should get its day in court, overturning a lower-court judgment that had dismissed the legal bid.
Hamilton, Ont.-based National Steel Car Ltd. launched the challenge in 2017, saying Ontario’s so-called global adjustment charge was unconstitutional because it is a tax — not a valid regulatory charge — that was not passed by the legislature.
The global adjustment funds the difference between the province’s hourly electricity price and the price guaranteed under contracts to power generators. It is “the component that covers the cost of…