Electricity generating company Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has announced the completion of refurbishment construction on the 3.5GW Darlington Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 2 reactor located in Clarington, within the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The Unit 2 refurbishment is part of the wider Darlington Refurbishment project, which is claimed to be one of the largest clean energy projects in Canada and aims to extend the plant’s life by 30 more years.
OPG president and CEO Ken Hartwick said: “On behalf of all OPG employees, project partners and vendors, I want to thank our refurbishment team on completing the final steps of construction on Unit 2 under unprecedented and extraordinary circumstances.
“The project team continued to work safely and diligently while managing changes required as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Darlington Nuclear Station’s Unit 3 reactor to continue operations
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company plans to continue to operate the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 3 reactor.
The Canadian company noted that the unit will ensure a stable supply of clean electricity required for hospitals, families and essential businesses amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The move, however, will temporarily delay the Unit 3 refurbishment plans, which was originally planned to start in May 2020.
Hartwick added: “I want to thank our 9,000+ employees and union leadership for their patience, cooperation and dedication.
“Because of your efforts, our generating units are operating normally and frontline health-care workers across Ontario have access to sterilized devices and reliable electricity. I also want to thank Ontarians for staying home and doing your part. OPG will do our part, and together, we will power on.”
OPG said it plans to begin Unit 2 restart process upon securing regulatory approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
The company is scheduled to complete the full four-unit Darlington Refurbishment project in 2026.
