3 May (NucNet): Canada’s natural resources minister has approved Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plans for four new reactors at the Darlington nuclear power plant near Toronto, saying the project is not likely to cause adverse environmental impact.
Joe Oliver said in a statement yesterday that nuclear energy is a “safe, reliable and virtually emissions-free” option for addressing Canada’s energy and environmental needs.
The Darlington project involves the construction and operation of up to four nuclear units with up to 4,800 megawatts of electrical capacity and associated facilities, OPG said.
OPG said it is now waiting for a decision by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC on the next key milestone, the issuance of the site preparation licence.
The site preparation licence is the first of three licences required to build and operate a new nuclear facility in Canada, OPG said.
No reactor technology has yet been chosen for the new units. The government said the CNSC would have to determine whether the environmental assessment is applicable to the reactor technology that is chosen.
If the chosen technology is “fundamentally different” from the reactor technologies already outlined by OPG then a new environmental assessment should be conducted, the government said.
There are four existing 881-megawatt Candu units at the Darlington plant.
The government’s report is online:
www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document-eng.cfm?document=55542
For details of the Darlington project see OPG’s Darlington Project website:
http://www.opg.com/power/nuclear/darlington/d_overview.asp
