OPG celebrates green light for Pickering Refurbishment. Here’s what’s next
At a glance
- OPG recently celebrated the Province of Ontario’s support of refurbishment for Pickering Nuclear’s Units 5 to 8.
- The project team is now advancing the initiation phase, with engineering, design, and procurement activities, and incorporating lessons learned from Darlington Refurbishment.
- Pickering Refurbishment will provide 30-plus years of carbon-free power, maintain thousands of skilled jobs, and avoid 120 megatonnes of carbon emissions.
In January, OPG marked a historic day for the company as the Province of Ontario provided the green light to proceed with planning for the refurbishment of Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, one of the world’s largest nuclear stations.
For more than 50 years, Pickering Nuclear has provided Ontario with carbon-free, reliable energy, and currently meets about 14% of the province’s electricity needs.
Now, Pickering is set to provide clean power for generations to come.
Refurbishing the station’s Units 5 to 8 – capable of generating about 2,100 megawatts, or enough to power 2 million homes – would secure 30-plus years of clean power to support Ontario’s economic growth, electrification, and decarbonization.
The project will also ensure the station and its employees will continue to play an integral role in supporting and strengthening the Pickering and Durham communities.
“What has really gotten us to this point is the hard work of our employees, who have pushed Pickering to its best performance in its long history,” said Ken Hartwick, OPG’s President and CEO. “Over the past 10 years, we have learned a lot about what it takes to refurbish a nuclear station the right way. We have thousands of lessons learned from our Darlington Refurbishment that we will apply to Pickering. We have all the tools, talent, and experience to make Pickering Refurbishment as successful as Darlington Refurbishment.”
Over the past 10 years, we have learned a lot about what it takes to refurbish a nuclear station the right way. We have thousands of lessons learned from our Darlington Refurbishment that we will apply to Pickering.Ken HartwickPresident and CEO, OPG
Some of the major benefits of Pickering Refurbishment include maintaining and securing thousands of highly skilled jobs; boosting Canada’s GDP by $40.6 billion; and avoiding about 120 megatonnes of carbon emissions.
With the Province’s go-ahead, refurbishment planning is now advancing quickly at OPG.
The project has begun ramping up engineering, design, and procurement work, which includes securing long-lead components that can require years to manufacture, such as turbine generators and boilers. This phase will last to the end of 2024.
Similar to Darlington’s four-unit overhaul, refurbishing Pickering will involve removing and replacing major components of each reactor and its associated equipment, including pressure tubes, calandria tubes, and feeder pipes, as well as the plant’s steam generators.
Did you know? Pressure tubes are the heart of a nuclear reactor. They are designed to contain the fuel bundles and the primary coolant (water) in a reactor. Pressure tubes are housed within calandria tubes.
The project team is also preparing to train employees for refurbishment activities at an existing mock-up facility at the Pickering site, which will be updated, while incorporating thousands of lessons learned from the Darlington Refurbishment project, which remains on time and on budget, and Bruce Power’s Major Component Replacement program.
This thorough planning and preparation work will ensure OPG will be ready to start executing the refurbishment once Units 5 to 8 are shut down in 2026, pending regulatory approvals from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
“This is an exciting time for Pickering Nuclear and OPG, and we have a lot of activity happening right now,” said John Blazanin, OPG’s Vice-President of Pickering Refurbishment. “We are staffing up our organization and making good progress. We’re excited and looking forward to a busy year to move this important project forward.”
To learn more about Pickering Nuclear and the Pickering Refurbishment, head over to OPG’s Pickering Nuclear page.
Related stories
Subscribe and stay informed
Sign up to receive the latest news, project updates, and event information from OPG.