Darlington Refurbishment is a made-in-Ontario success story
OPG celebrates major project milestone by saluting employees, partners, and world-leading supply chain
CLARINGTON, ON , Aug. 8, 2023 /CNW/ - Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is showcasing the people and companies behind the recent successful, early completion of another unit at its Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, currently undergoing a mid-life refurbishment. The company and its Board of Directors were joined by Energy Minister Todd Smith to mark the recent milestone.
Unit 3 was reconnected to the grid on July 17, 2023, 169 days ahead of schedule. Unit 2, the first unit to be refurbished, was reconnected to the grid in June 2020.
More than half-way through, the project is on plan – a rarity among large infrastructure projects. OPG attributes the success to-date to a number of key factors, including:
- Planning: OPG conducted thorough planning prior to starting project execution, including building a full-scale nuclear reactor mock-up. At this first-of-its-kind facility, workers practise tasks in a simulated environment prior to performing the exact manoeuvre on the reactor. A portion of this planning may also be applied to future projects.
- "One Team" approach: OPG and its project partners, including technical staff and skilled tradespeople, are all part of one organization, working toward the same goals around safety, quality, schedule, and cost. The team also constantly shares and incorporates lessons learned from each stage.
- A "made-in-Ontario" approach: OPG and its partners are leveraging Ontario's robust nuclear supply chain for the parts and services needed for Darlington's refurbishment. Approximately 96 per cent of project costs are being spent in the province, including with more than 260 companies. The $12.8B Refurbishment project, together with the station's extended operation, will generate approximately $90 billion in economic benefits for Ontario and create an average of 14,200 jobs annually across the province.
Currently, Darlington Units 1 and 4 are in refurbishment outages: Unit 1, expected to be completed in mid-2025, is approximately 60 per cent complete and is currently in the reassembly phase; Unit 4 was removed from service on July 19 to begin its mid-life overhaul. The overall project will be completed in 2026.
"OPG's planning, early procurement of components, a spirit of innovation, an extraordinarily skilled technical and trades workforce, and the support of our union partners are yielding significant results," said Subo Sinnathamby, OPG Senior Vice President, Nuclear Refurbishment. "Darlington Refurbishment's success to date is a clear testament to the OneTeam approach to project excellence."
"The successful refurbishment of Darlington's Unit 3 is a major success which demonstrates that this province, working with our expert nuclear suppliers and skilled trades, can deliver major energy projects ahead of schedule and on budget," said Todd Smith, Minister of Energy. "Along with our work to build a total of four Small Modular Reactors at Darlington and beginning pre-development work to site Canada's first large-scale nuclear build in over three decades, Unit 3 returning to service will help power the next major international investment in Ontario, the new homes we are building, and industries as they grow and electrify."
"We celebrate, along with OPG, the completion of Unit 3 at Darlington. OPG is a valued community partner, and this is a major milestone in their important refurbishment project. This work has created thousands of construction jobs at the station each year of the project and will preserve thousands of permanent local jobs as the station continues to generate a significant portion of Ontario's electricity needs," said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster. "On behalf of the community, I want to congratulate OPG on this significant achievement."
As one of North America's largest, most diverse electricity generators, OPG invests in local economies and employs thousands of people across Ontario and the U.S. OPG and its family of companies are leading the development of new clean technologies, refurbishment projects, and electrification initiatives to power the growing demand of a clean economy. Learn more about how the company is advancing these initiatives while prioritizing people, partnerships, and strong communities by reading OPG's Climate Change Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) strategy.
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SOURCE Ontario Power Generation Inc.
Ontario Power Generation, 416-592-4008 or 1-877-592-4008
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