Additional SMRs in the pipeline for Darlington

07 July 2023

The Ontario government announced it is working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to begin planning and licensing for three additional GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactors, for a total of four, at the Darlington plant site.

Plans being announced for the additional SMRs at Darlington (Image: OPG)

The announcement about three potential additional units builds on January's announcement about a contract to build a single BWRX-300 at OPG's Darlington site. Construction of that unit is scheduled to be completed by late 2028, with the supplying of power to the grid set to start in 2029.

Subject to Ontario Government and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) regulatory approvals on construction, the additional SMRs could come online between 2034 and 2036.

This timing would allow OPG to apply learnings from the construction of the first unit to deliver cost savings on subsequent units, the government noted. Building multiple units will also allow common infrastructure such as cooling water intake, transmission connection and control room to be utilised by all four units instead of just one, reducing costs even further.

"Once deployed, these four units would produce a total 1200 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to powering 1.2 million homes, helping to meet increasing demand from electrification and fuel the province's strong economic growth," the government said.

"A fleet of SMRs at the Darlington New Nuclear Site is key to meeting growing electricity demands and net-zero goals," said OPG President and CEO Ken Hartwick. "OPG has proven its large nuclear project expertise through the on-time, on budget Darlington Refurbishment project. By taking a similar approach to building a fleet of SMRs, we will deliver cost and schedule savings, and power 1.2 million homes from this site by the mid-2030s."

"OPG and the Province of Ontario have staked a leading position in the deployment of new nuclear with a project that will offer significant energy and economic benefits to Ontario and Canada," said GEH President & CEO Jay Wileman. "As a global clean energy leader, the Province of Ontario is an ideal home for this innovative project. We look forward to working closely with the SMR project partners as we build a fleet of new reactors together and demonstrate nuclear project excellence here in Canada."

On 31 October last year, OPG submitted an application to the CNSC for a licence to construct a BWRX-300 at the Darlington site. This licence is required before any nuclear construction work on the SMR can begin. However, site preparation work is already under way at the site. OPG expects to make a construction decision by the end of 2024.

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GEH's ESBWR boiling water reactor. The CNSC issued a positive decision in March, making the BWRX-300 the first SMR to complete such a pre-licensing Vendor Design Review in Canada.

The announcement of the additional SMRs comes days after the Ontario government announced it is starting pre-development work to build up to 4800 MWe of new nuclear capacity at Bruce Power's existing site, in what would be Canada's first large-scale nuclear build in more than 30 years.

Ontario government announces support for nuclear expansion

06 July 2023

The province's government has announced it is starting pre-development work to build up to 4800 MWe of new nuclear capacity at Bruce Power's existing site, in what would be Canada's first large-scale nuclear build in more than 30 years.

Todd Smith announced the government's support at the Bruce site yesterday (Image: Bruce Power)

Electricity demand in Ontario is rising for the first time since 2005, the government said. It has already implemented a plan to meet rising demand in the current decade, but Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) last year issued a report forecasting that the province could need to more than double its electricity generation capacity from today's 42,000 MWe to 88,000 MWe by 2050.

The IESO report recommended that Ontario begin planning, siting and environmental assessment work for long-lead assets, including nuclear power, as a "no regret" action towards meeting decarbonisation goals and increasing electricity demand driven by strong economic growth, electrification and population growth beyond 2030.

Bruce Power's eight existing Candu reactors already produce some 30% of Ontario's electricity, and the company said the site has space for "incremental infrastructure development". President and CEO Mike Rencheck said nuclear power had been the "stable backbone" of Ontario's electricity system for decades, and the long-term planning and consultation activities will determine how it can further contribute to Ontario's clean energy and economic development goals. The long-term planning and consultation activities will not impact the company's ongoing programme to secure the site's operation until 2064.

Minister of Energy Todd Smith said Ontario's "open for business approach" has led to "unprecedented" investments across the province. "With our plan already in place to meet demand this decade, we are starting the pre-development work to identify future generation options, including reliable, affordable and clean nuclear energy, that will power our province into the future," he said.

The process for approving and building new nuclear capacity could take a decade or longer, and federal approval is the first step in this process, the government said. The pre-development work will take several years to complete and will help evaluate the suitability of the site by examining the impacts of a new facility on the environment, the public and Indigenous communities, with significant public input and community consultations. It is also a prerequisite for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's licensing process for a new large-scale reactor.

The Ministry of Energy said it is working with the IESO and Bruce Power on a contractual approach to address the costs associated with the pre-development work to minimise the impact on ratepayers and will also look for ways to use funds collected from the sale of clean energy credits through the Future Clean Electricity Fund to help reduce the costs for ratepayers.

Eighteen of Canada's 19 operating Candu reactors are in Ontario, where they provide around half the province's electricity. Although nuclear capacity played a key role in enabling the province to entirely phase out coal-fired electricity generation in 2014, plans for new large-scale reactors had been shelved in favour of projects by Bruce and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to refurbish existing reactors to allow them to continue operating well beyond the middle of the century. The province is also - alongside Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan - pursuing a strategic plan to develop and deploy small modular reactors (SMRs), and OPG has begun site preparation for a grid-scale SMR at a site adjacent to its existing Darlington plant.

"Ontario's electricity system is already cleaner than California or Germany and the Bruce Power nuclear site was instrumental in helping to phase out coal and establishing Ontario's clean energy advantage," Dave Butters, president of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, said. "Today's announcement to identify future generation options to meet rising electricity demand creates a tremendous option for the province both to meet our coming power needs, and support our transition to net-zero."

Bruce Power is located in the traditional and treaty territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and the harvesting territories of the Métis Nation of Ontario and the Historic Saugeen Métis.

First submissions for Canadian review of eVinci design

06 July 2023

Westinghouse Electric Company has submitted the first set of documents to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for the pre-licensing vendor design review (VDR) of its eVinci microreactor.

A rendering of an eVinci plant (Image: Westinghouse)

The CNSC offers the VDR as an optional service to provide an assessment of a nuclear power plant design based on a vendor's reactor technology. It is not a required part of the licensing process for a new nuclear power plant, but aims to verify the acceptability of a design with respect to Canadian nuclear regulatory requirements and expectations.

The three phases of the VDR process involve a pre-licensing assessment of compliance with regulatory requirements; an assessment of any potential fundamental barriers to licensing; and a follow-up phase allowing the vendor to respond to findings from the second phase.

Westinghouse applied in February 2018 to the CNSC for a VDR of the eVinci. A service agreement between the company and the CNSC was signed in September 2022, initiating the VDR process. Westinghouse is executing both Phases 1 and 2 of the VDR as a combined programme.

Westinghouse has now provided four Phase 1 Focus Area submissions to the CNSC. Overall, more than 40 submissions will be filed during Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the VDR process.

"The submissions will enable early identification and resolution of potential regulatory and technical issues as the eVinci technology advances through the design process," the company said.

Westinghouse is also planning to submit reports for joint review under the Memorandum of Cooperation between the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the CNSC. The reports will focus on selected design aspects of the eVinci microreactor with the primary objective of establishing alignment and a common understanding of regulatory expectations.

In December 2021, Westinghouse submitted a pre-application regulatory engagement plan (REP) with the NRC for the microreactor, detailing the planned pre-licensing application interactions with the regulator. An REP helps reactor developers' early interactions with NRC staff and can reduce regulatory uncertainty and add predictability to licensing advanced technologies.

In February this year, Westinghouse filed a Notice of Intent to submit key licensing reports for eVinci to the NRC and the CNSC for joint review including a common set of key requirements for the classification of systems, structures and components for the microreactor. This approach will enable deployment of a standard design in both the USA and Canada.

The eVinci microreactor is described as a "small battery" for decentralised generation markets and for microgrids, such as remote communities, remote industrial mines and critical infrastructure. The nominal 5 MWe heat pipe reactor, which has a heat capability of 14 MWt, features a design that Westinghouse says provides competitive and resilient power as well as superior reliability with minimal maintenance. It is small enough to allow for standard transportation methods, making it perfectly suited for remote locations and rapid, on-site deployment. These features, the company says, make it a viable option for places such as mines and off-grid communities.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News