AECL to build new reactors at Darlington

Ontario Nuclear Energy Plan outlines $87 billion for new build and refurbishment: 2,000 MW at Darlington, upgrades at Bruce, life extension at Pickering, plus wind, solar, biomass, with natural gas ensuring reliable electricity.

The provincial government of Ontario announced it plans to finance at least two new nuclear plants and refurbish 10 others over the next 20 years.

The Ontario Power Authority is committed to nuclear continuing to provide around half of the province’s electricity supply, and Canada currently has 18 nuclear units of which 16 are in Ontario.

The long-term energy plan for the province of Ontario envisages using $87 billion to build at least two nuclear plants, with the province having invited four companies to bid on reactors as part of procurement, and refurbish 10 others over the next 20 years, as well as pay for new wind, solar and biomass projects.

Two new units, providing 2,000 MW of capacity, will be built at the Darlington site which already houses four nuclear reactors units at the Darlington and Bruce sites will to be modernized and the operating lifetime of units at the Pickering nuclear plant will be extended until 2020 under a life-extension plan for those units.

Extensive nuclear refurbishments will take place between 2015 and 2019, including the Pickering B refurbishment among other projects, with Ontario relying on its natural gas-fired stations to maintain a reliable electricity supply. Nuclear units will shut down for three years while refurbishment takes place.

Ontario Power Generation, which owns and operates the Darlington and Pickering nuclear plants, is continuing with the environmental assessment and obtaining a site preparation license for new plant at Darlington. In June 2009 Ontario suspended the procurement process, after earlier seeking vendor proposals from major suppliers, for the two proposed Darlington units because of concern about pricing and uncertainty over the future of state owned Atomic Energy of Canada Limited AECL.

The federal government is expected to identify a buyer for AECL by the end of 2010. The Ontario energy plan says that it expects the federal government to restructure AECL in a way that will allow Ontario to be able to complete a deal with the new owner, supporting ongoing Pickering life extensions toward a lower-carbon supply.

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