OPG Gets Go-Ahead For Darlington Refurbishment After Regulator Renews Licence

28 Dec (NucNet): The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has renewed Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) operating licence for the Darlington nuclear station in Ontario. The licence will be valid from 1 January 2016 until 30 November 2025 and means OPG is authorised to carry out the refurbishment and life extension of the station’s four 878-megawatt Candu 850 pressurised heavy water reactor units. The licence also authorises OPG to operate the Darlington units beyond 210,000 equivalent full power hours up to the proposed refurbishment outages, to a maximum of 235,000 equivalent full power hours. The planned Darlington refurbishment will involve the replacement of core reactor components to enable the station to operate safely for another 30 years, OPG said. Each reactor would be taken out of service for about three years, OPG said. The company said the project cost will be “less than 10 billion Canadian dollars” ($9.1bn, €6.8bn). OPG said: “When you consider the station will run for 30 more years, this is a good investment.”