CLARINGTON, Ont. — Ontario Power Generation and the province are planning three more small modular reactors at the site of the Darlington nuclear power plant.
One SMR is already being built there, with construction of the first unit set to be complete by 2028.
OPG president Ken Hartwick says the planned fleet of SMRs would produce 1,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of 1.2 million homes by the mid-2030s.
That is around when rising electricity demand is projected to surpass supply by about 5,000 megawatts and Energy Minister Todd Smith has made a number of recent announcements aimed at closing that gap, including a new, large-scale nuclear plant at Bruce Power on Lake Huron.
Smith says it is part of Ontario’s plan to meet electricity demand with emissions-free power, though some critics have warned about relying on SMRs as a relatively untested power source. Small modular reactors use similar technology to traditional nuclear power plants, but they are much smaller.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
Province of Ontario to Deploy Additional GE Hitachi BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactors
July 07, 2023
WILMINGTON, North Carolina—July 7, 2023—The Province of Ontario announced today that it is working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to begin planning and licensing for the deployment of three additional GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site. A total of four BWRX-300 SMRs are now planned for deployment at the site east of Toronto.
“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 Jay Wileman, President & CEO, GEH. “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.”
Today’s 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, the first commercial contract for a grid-scale SMR in North America.
“We are looking forward to a long partnership with OPG as we turn the BWRX-300 design into a reality here at the Darlington site,” said Sean Sexstone, Executive Vice President, Advanced Nuclear, GEH. “The Ontario supply chain has embraced the BWRX-300 project and we are encouraged by the leadership we have seen to meet manufacturing quality and schedule requirements to support this project and our integrated team.”
Advanced nuclear technologies like the BWRX-300 are a key pillar of GEH’s energy transition leadership. In addition to helping customers achieve decarbonization goals, the BWRX-300 is designed to reduce construction and operating costs below other nuclear power generation technologies. Specifically, the BWRX-300 leverages a unique combination of existing fuel, plant simplifications, proven components and a design based on an already licensed reactor.
GE’s support for the Canadian nuclear industry dates to the early 1950s. The company helped build the first Canadian nuclear power plant, the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor that became the basis for the entire CANDU fleet.
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