Bruce Power looks to bring Unit 6 back online after replacement work
Now that its Unit 6 refurbishment is substantially complete, Bruce Power has announced the next phase of work on its Major Component Replacement (MCR) project.
The utility says it is focusing its efforts on returning the unit to service, with a timeline of later this year. The unit provides enough electricity to power a city the size of Hamilton.
The MCR project is Ontario’s largest clean-energy infrastructure project.
Bruce Power Operations staff will begin refueling the unit with 5,760 fuel bundles later this month, while other lead-out activities and regulatory inspections will be completed to return it to Ontario’s electricity grid in the fourth quarter of this year.
Unit 6 was the first of six units Bruce Power and its partners intend to refurbish between 2020 and 2033, a privately funded investment into Units 3-8 that will extend the life of the site through 2064.
“Nuclear energy is crucial to powering our growing province and thriving economy and the completion of construction on Bruce Power’s Unit 6 Major Component Replacement Project is a critical step as we ensure the province can meet the demand for clean, low-cost electricity,” said Energy Minister Todd Smith. “Our strong nuclear industry has enabled one of the cleanest electricity systems in the world and, as a leader in nuclear refurbishment, we’re ensuring this carries forward for the people, businesses and hospitals in Ontario.”
The construction phase of the Unit 6 MCR, completed with Shoreline Power Group, a joint venture between Aecon, SNC-Lavalin and United Engineers & Constructors, and tradespeople from the Ontario Building Trades, included the removal and replacement of 960 feeder tubes, 480 fuel channels, and 480 calandria tubes. Steam generator work was completed earlier this year by SGRT a 50/50 joint venture between Aecon and SGT (a partnership between Framatome and United Engineers & Constructors).
Shoreline Power Group will continue with the remaining MCR units.
“Shoreline brings considerable nuclear technical knowledge and years of experience and expertise,” said Aecon Group President and CEO Jean-Louis Servranckx. “We’re proud of the entire team’s work partnering with Bruce Power to substantially complete the Unit 6 project and we look forward to working alongside Bruce Power in the remaining MCR outages over the next decade.”
The next unit to undergo major component replacement is Unit 3. That unit was taken offline March 1 for defueling, with bulkhead installation and the Primary Heat Transport system ‘drain and dry’ as the next steps in the project. Construction activity, which begins with major component disassembly, will begin later this quarter.
Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program and MCR Project will extend the operational life of each reactor by 30 to 35 years and help mitigate the predicted increase in GHG emissions intensity of the electricity grid. Bruce Power’s MCR and Asset Management investments will be closely coordinated with Project 2030, a program that leverages innovation and new efficient technology to increase site capacity, targeting upwards of 7,000 Megawatts net peak output in the early-2030s, once all units have completed their MCRs.
It will also ensure a steady supply of medical isotopes for the world market for decades to come.
The utility’s Life-Extension Program will generate billions in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province. It directly and indirectly supports 22,000 jobs annually and injects $4 billion into the province’s economy.