Darlington Refurbishment enters next major phase

With the refurbishment of Darlington Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 2 reactor about 40 per cent complete, the Darlington Refurbishment project continues to track on time and on budget.

From now until next spring, workers will be dismantling the core of Unit 2, preparing it for the installation of new components that will extend its power-producing capability by 30 years.

While the first stage in this phase of the Darlington Refurbishment project involved the removal of items from the vault, such as feeders and severing of pressure tubes, the work in the second segment focuses on disassembling the reactor core.

“Essentially, we are completely dismantling the reactor before we move into the phase where we re-build it,” said Andrew Negenman, Department Manager, Outages.

​The major work in this segment involves removing reactor components, including pressure tubes, calandria tubes and end fittings. Other work involves electrical maintenance, water system replacement and continued maintenance of up to 1,000 valves.

The site is now busy with more than 3,000 skilled engineers, trades people and service professionals all working to advance the project.

By the end of this segment, 90 per cent of the entire project’s bulk work is expected to be done, setting the stage for Unit 2’s return-to-service.

Producing about 20 per cent of the province’s electricity, Darlington Nuclear is one of the best performing and safest nuclear generating stations in the world. Ninety-six per cent of all money spent on refurbishing the power plant is going right back to Ontario-based manufacturers, contractors and other skilled workers, giving the province’s economy a major boost.

Open house

More than 2,100 people took the opportunity to visit the world’s first-ever nuclear reactor mock-up during the Darlington Refurbishment Open House held on Nov. 18.

Attendees got to visit the world-class training facility and take a virtual reality tour of a nuclear building airlock. Guided bus tours of the station were also available.