Work on the Major Component Replacement (MCR) project at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is officially underway.

The project, which is part of the larger Life-Extension Program, will see upgrades to major components of units 3 to 8 at the station. It will help to extend the life of the station itself through 2064.

The project begins with taking Unit 6 offline. Work on that unit began earlier this month. Work on Unit 3 will begin in 2023, and work on Unit 4 will begin in 2025.

The life extension of each unit will add approximately 30 to 35 years of operational life, while other investments will add a combined 30 reactor years of operational life to the units.

“The Unit 6 project marks the next big step in a long campaign to revitalize this site,” said Bruce Power president and CEO Mike Rencheck. “Our employees, supplier partners and skilled tradespeople participating in this project are ready for the journey ahead, and I look forward to delivering our plan and securing our future.”

Expanding the life of the Bruce Power site until 2064 will result in an annual injection of $4 billion into Ontario’s economy. It will also create as many as 22,000 jobs each year.

“With Unit 6 offline, we have reached a pivotal moment in Bruce Power’s history,” Rencheck said. “We are focused on doing our work safely, to the highest standard, on time and on budget.”

Under the MCR works, Candu Energy Inc., which is a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, has been awarded three contracts worth a total of $34 million. The company will provide fuel channel and feeder replacement detailed designs for Unit 3 and Unit 4 and a seismic margin assessment of the site.

"SNC-Lavalin looks forward to collaborating and contributing our CANDU expertise to extend the life of Bruce Power's Units 3 and 4 into the long-term future," said Sandy Taylor, president, nuclear at SNC-Lavalin. "The lessons learned from the successful completion of Unit 6 detailed designs will be applied to further optimize project execution."

SNC-Lavalin will undertake the detailed design of the Unit 3 and Unit 4 MCR fuel channel assemblies and calandria tubes, including pressure tubes, end fittings, positioning assemblies, bearing and shielding sleeves and inserts and rolled joints. A stress analysis to determine the strains of the calandria and shield tank assembly will be performed. The work is anticipated to be completed in 2023.

Detailed design of the Unit 3 and Unit 4 feeders will be undertaken and include a partial replacement of the feeder cabinet and items inside such as instrumentation lines and I&C components. This work has begun and continues into 2022.

A seismic margin assessment will be conducted to demonstrate the seismic adequacy of the station. Unit 3 will occur from this January until May 2021, followed by Unit 4 from June 2021 to February 2022.