Nuclear power |
OPG poised for SMR construction at Darlington
Small modular reactors, SMRs, talked about in nuclear circles for several decades, are showing encouraging signs of actually progressing to construction projects, with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300, installed capacity 300 MWe, currently having a strong claim to be frontrunner technology
In May, OPG of Canada reported it had received the green light to build a BWRX-300 at its Darlington site, which it describes as “North America’s first commercial, grid-scale SMR”, also billed as the “G7’s first grid-scale SMR.” One person who might take issue with this claim is Bill Gates, whose company Terrapower started construction work on a 345 MW Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA, in June last year. However, BWRX-300 developers would argue that Kemmerer is a demonstration project rather than commercial, and that construction there is currently confined to the non-nuclear portion of the plant.
The Province of Ontario has approved OPG to begin construction on the first of four SMR units at its Darlington New Nuclear Project site. What we can say for sure is that this is the first new nuclear build in Ontario for more than three decades. Essential to the SMR cause, of course, is that these early projects are successful in terms of implementation, economics and, looking ahead, operating performance. But OPG is optimistic. “With the province’s robust nuclear supply chain and our successful track record on nuclear projects, particularly our Darlington Refurbishment, we are confident we will be able to deliver the first SMR unit for Ontario, on-time and on-budget,” says Nicolle Butcher, President and
CEO, OPG. And “as a first mover on SMRs, Ontario will also be able to market our capabilities and nuclear expertise to the world to further grow our domestic industry,” Butcher believes. To ensure a successful buildout, OPG says it will be leveraging more than 7000 lessons learned from its Darlington Refurbishment project, which remains on track to be completed by 2026. The company will also incorporate lessons learned from the construction of the first SMR to the rest of the fleet.
The Province’s approval to proceed comes after OPG received a Licence to Construct the first SMR unit, in April, from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
The Darlington New Nuclear Project site, future home of North America’s first small modular reactor. Photo: OPG
10 | June 2025|
www.modernpowersystems.com
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