First of four units in Ontario could be online by end of decade
The province of Ontario and power company Ontario Power Generation (OPG) have approved a CAD20.9bn (€13.5bn, $15.1bn) plan to build the first of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at OPG’s Darlington site.
Construction of the BWRX-300 plant will begin soon with completion of the first unit scheduled by the end of the decade.
The announcement on 8 May follows last month’s decision by Canada’s nuclear regulator to issue a construction licence for the unit, designed and supplied by GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH).
In December 2021, OPG announced that it had selected the BWRX-300 reactor for deployment at the Darlington site.
Only a handful of SMRs have been completed and only in Russia and China. The Darlington project is expected to be the first to be deployed in the developed Group of Seven countries.
Early site preparation work at Darlington, on a site next to an existing nuclear station with four operational large-scale nuclear plants, has been completed.
Reports have said the first unit is expected to cost C$6.1bn with costs for the subsequent reactors declining as experience is gained. Other reports put the entire cost of the four-unit project at CAD21bn.
Once built, the reactors will operate for 65 years, the government of Ontario said.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, more than 80 commercial SMR designs are under development with a number of countries planning deployment. Designs are being developed for applications including electricity generation, heating and water desalination. Most are designed to factory built and easily deployed where needed.
The BWRX-300 is a 300-MW water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems. It is based on an existing boiling water reactor design – the ESBWR – that is licensed in the US. It also uses an existing, licensed fuel design.
“By 2050 we need 75% more power,” Steve Lecce, Ontario’s minister of energy and mines, said at a press conference on 8 May at the Darlington site.
“If we don’t take that strong decisive action, our future, our economy – there could be serious repercussions.
“We’re breaking ground on a project that when complete will produce power for 1.2 million homes, 1,200 megawatts of power,” Lecce said.
The project will create 18,000 jobs, including 3,700 highly skilled jobs.
Lecce said 80% of the spending on the entire project will go to Ontario companies that are providing skilled workers to build the new reactors.
Background: Canada Bullish About Nuclear Prospects
The Darlington project is part of a larger push by Lecce to deploy more nuclear generation to power Ontario’s growing electricity demands.
The plan also includes exploring a new, large-scale plant at the Bruce site, considering a new nuclear plant near Port Hope, Ontario, and refurbishing units at the Pickering nuclear station to extend its lifespan.
Lecce is bullish on exporting Ontario’s nuclear know-how abroad. The province has signed agreements worth more than CAD1bn with companies in Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Those agreements will see Canadian companies and workers build and operate reactors oversees, his office said.
Darlington, north of Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario, is the only site in Canada with an approved environmental assessment and regulatory licence for new nuclear.
Canada is bullish about the prospects for nuclear energy, including SMRs.
It has a fleet of 19 large-scale commercial nuclear power plants that provide about 14% of its electricity generation. Major projects have begun to extend the lifetime of reactors at the Bruce, Darlington and Pickering stations.
In August 2023, Canada approved up to CAD74m in federal funding for SMR development in Saskatchewan with potential deployment of a first plant in the mid-2030s and more units to follow.
Utility SaskPower has already chosen the BWRX-300 for potential deployment in Saskatchewan, subject to a decision to build expected in 2029.
