Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) marked a significant milestone recently, with the early connection of Unit 3 at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station to Ontario’s electricity grid – 169 days ahead of schedule. This achievement showcases OPG’s success in completing the four-unit refurbishment safely and on budget by the end of 2026.
Unit 3 is the second fully refurbished Darlington unit and its early return is expected to generate an additional 3 terawatt-hours of energy, enough to power 350,000 homes for an entire year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Through this project, OPG is demonstrating that with detailed planning and preparation, large nuclear projects can be completed not only on-time, but ahead of time and with great quality,” said Ken Hartwick, OPG’s president and CEO. “This would not be possible without the performance, expertise, and commitment from our refurbishment project team, project partners, industry experts, energy professionals, and skilled tradespeople.”
Unit 1’s refurbishment is well underway and \projected to be completed by mid-2025. Approximately 60 percent of the refurbishment work has already been completed, and the unit is currently in the reassembly phase.
“The successful refurbishment of Darlington’s Unit 3 ahead of schedule and on-budget will help power the next major international investment in Ontario, the new homes we are building, and industries as they grow and electrify,” said Todd Smith, highlighting construction on four Small Modular Reactors at Darlington, and the commencement of pre-development work for Canada’s first large-scale nuclear build in over three decades.
The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) predicts steady growth in electricity demand, driven by decarbonization efforts, increased electrification, and various commercial and industrial projects.