Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced on September 3 that refurbishment work is now underway on Unit 3 of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.

Construction work on the reactor was set to begin in May, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reactor was safely shut down and disconnected from Ontario's electricity grid on July 3. Over the next three months, workers will use remote-controlled tooling to remove 6,240 fuel bundles from the unit and place them in water-filled fuel bays for up to 10 years of safe storage. 

The 10-year refurbishment of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is one of Canada's largest clean energy infrastructure projects, and is due to be completed by the end of 2026.

"This enormous clean energy project will play a significant role in Ontario's fight against climate change by providing 30-plus years of clean, low-cost and reliable power for Ontarians," said OPG president and CEO Ken Hartwick.

"Refurbishing Darlington's Unit 3 is crucial for securing Ontario's long-term energy future," said Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines. "Today's announcement brings us one step closer to extending the life of Darlington, which will enable Ontarians to benefit from reliable, emission-free and low-cost energy for decades to come."  

OPG and its project partners began execution of the Darlington refurbishment project in October 2016. Following more than three years of work on Darlington Unit 2, the project team successfully completed the unit's refurbishment and returned it to commercial service in June 2020.

Since the start of the project, OPG workers have completed more than 24 million hours of work. The team has also incorporated more than 4,000 lessons learned from Unit 2 refurbishment into the plans and preparations for Unit 3 and subsequent unit refurbishments, increasing efficiencies across the project.

“Darlington’s fuel handling team has worked very hard to ensure the fuel handling equipment is reliable and our operations, maintenance and engineering groups are trained and ready to execute Unit 3’s defuel campaign,” said Steve Gregoris, senior vice-president at Darlington Nuclear. “We’re ready to build on Unit 2’s success, as we work as one team to build Darlington for the future.”

Refurbishing the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is critical in the province's efforts to combat climate change. An independent report prepared by Intrinsik Environmental Sciences noted the continued operation of the refurbished station to 2055 will equal removing two million cars per year from Ontario's roads by avoiding significant greenhouse gas emissions. 

The refurbishment project is expected to generate a total of nearly $90 billion in economic benefits for Ontario and increase employment by an average of 14,200 jobs annually across the province. The four-unit station currently generates over 20 percent of Ontario's electricity, or enough energy to power two million homes.

The Darlington refurbishment project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. The project remains on time and on budget.