Darlington refurbishment on track for Fall start

Toronto – Years of preparation, planning and practice has ensured the Darlington Refurbishment will begin mid-October. Today, OPG released the latest in a series of performance reports that have tracked the company’s efforts for the past two years.

“I’m pleased to report it’s all systems go for Canada’s largest clean energy project,” said Dietmar Reiner, SVP Nuclear Projects. “Come October, we’ll shut down Unit 2, the first of four nuclear units to be refurbished, and begin removing, replacing and overhauling critical components.”

Highlights from the semi-annual performance report include:

• Cost performance has been excellent and has improved since the last reporting period;
• Safety performance has been excellent – the team has worked 2,372 days without a lost-time accident;
• OPG remains within the $12.8 billion project estimate;
• All necessary materials have been delivered;
• Worker training at the state-of-the-art reactor mock-up continues;
• The detailed execution plan has been finalized.

“The $12.8 billion Darlington Refurbishment will generate $14.9 billion in economic benefits for Ontario and create an average 8,800 jobs per year,” added Reiner. “Once refurbished, Darlington will continue providing safe, reliable energy that is virtually free of greenhouse gas emissions for the next 30 years. This vital base load power will also cost less than other alternatives considered.”

To ensure a reliable supply of low-carbon power during the refurbishments at both Darlington and Bruce Nuclear, OPG will seek regulatory approvals to continue operating Pickering Nuclear Generating Station until 2024. Extensive technical work indicates Pickering can operate safely during this time and that doing so would avoid eight million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The fifth in a series of project updates, the August 2016 Semi-Annual Performance Report is part of OPG’s commitment to transparency and keeping Ontarian’s informed about the refurbishment.  We will continue to share information in the coming weeks and months ahead. Click here to view the report.

SOURCE Ontario Power Generation Inc.