Green light for Darlington Refurbishment

With the Ontario Government’s announcement to invest in refurbishing the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (GS), OPG has started its official countdown to “breaker open" when Darlington's Unit 2 is removed from commercial service this October.

According to the final schedule, refurbishing all four units will take close to 10 years. Unit 2 will be completed before starting work on Unit 3. This allows lessons learned to be adopted.

OPG also intends to successfully complete refurbishing the first Darlington unit before Bruce Power begins their effort. In so doing, we will set the standard for mega-project execution.

“We are ready to go and we will deliver the job safely, on schedule, on budget, and at the highest level of quality,” said Jeff Lyash, CEO and President.

“We have a leadership team relentlessly focused on delivering results, a workforce committed to excellence in project execution and homegrown suppliers and partners who understand the importance of this effort. We all understand refurbishing Darlington is about the future of this province,” Lyash added.

The $12.8 billion investment will generate $14.9 billion in economic benefits to Ontario, which include thousands of construction jobs at Darlington and at some 60 Ontario companies supplying components for the job. This investment will also preserve about 3,000 jobs as it provides 30-plus years of clean, reliable, baseload power, at a cost lower than other alternatives.

Ontario’s electricity sector represents less than seven per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation sector is 35 per cent; industry is 28 per cent; and building heat is about 19 per cent. As these sectors work to reduce their carbon intensity, there will be more dependence on clean electricity and OPG will be positioned to support this transition.

“That means a decarbonized electricity system is not just an environmental achievement, clean power is the foundation for competitiveness – particularly on the cusp of carbon pricing. And home made clean power drives home made innovation and supports industries beyond the energy sector in communities across the province,” said Lyash.