Green light to proceed with Unit 3 refurbishment

On Feb. 15, the Ontario government confirmed its commitment to begin the refurbishment of Unit 3 at Darlington Nuclear. Durham MPP Granville Anderson made the announcement at an event at the Darlington Energy Complex to celebrate the halfway mark of refurbishing Unit 2.

“The Darlington refurbishment will ensure that reliable, nuclear energy continues to be the backbone of our generation fleet,” the Minister of Energy said in a news release. “This multi-phase project will continue to boost economic activity across Ontario, create jobs and secure a clean supply of affordable electricity for the future.”

​“The government took a phased approach to Darlington refurbishment, with each unit requiring individual approval to proceed,” said former OPG President and CEO Jeff Lyash. “The go-ahead to move forward with the next unit is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Darlington Refurbishment team.

Darlington is an essential source of electricity in Ontario and plays a key role in our economy. The station has delivered clean, reliable, low-cost power since 1990, and we are continuing to deliver on our commitment to complete this project on time and on budget. I want to thank OPG’s employees, the community and our many partners across the province for the hard work that's gone into the planning of this project.”

Refurbishment and continued operation of Darlington to 2055 will contribute $90 billion to Ontario’s GDP, and increase employment across the province by an average of 14,200 jobs annually, including more than 2,600 jobs onsite at Darlington.

“The local and province wide economic impact of this important project is truly staggering,” said Durham MPP Anderson. “The refurbishment project at Darlington is not only Canada’s largest clean energy project, but it’s also creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in economic growth.”