Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company has, in a joint venture with Aecon Group signed a three-year, $1.7 billion contract with Ontario Power Generation to begin work on the refurbishment of Unit 5 of Pickering CANDU nuclear power plant. The work involves retubing, and feeder and boiler replacement (RFBR).
The contract represents the first RFBR unit in a broader refurbishment project, with similar work anticipated for Units 6, 7 and 8 in subsequent phases, all pending regulatory approval. It covers engineering and design services, project delivery, as well as programme and project management associated with the planned life extension of four of Pickering’s CANDU reactors, including work that would enable Unit 5 to operate until the 2060s.
Like other successful CANDU refurbishment projects at Bruce Power and at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, this contract work at Pickering station is expected to sustain skilled, well-paying and long-lasting jobs across Ontario. The CANDU supply chain is 85% Canadian, representing more than 250 companies and sustaining 90,000 jobs.
“As Canada’s only domestically developed large-scale nuclear technology, CANDU also strengthens energy security and independence,” said Joe St. Julian, president, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis. “A defining advantage of CANDU technology is its ability to operate on natural, unenriched uranium, reducing reliance on foreign enrichment services and reinforcing energy security, particularly during periods of geopolitical uncertainty.”
Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator forecasts that electricity demand in the province will increase. A life-extension of Pickering’s CANDU reactors, to be completed by the mid-2030s pending regulatory approval, will allow the reactors to safely operate for 30 or more years, and is part of Ontario’s plan to maintain and increase the supply of affordable baseload clean power. This will take place against the backdrop of ongoing life-extension of CANDU reactors at the Bruce Power site, the recently completed Darlington refurbishment, the building of four small modular reactors at Darlington, the planned build of new nuclear reactors totalling 4800 MW at Bruce Power’s site, and exploration of three OPG owned sites in southern Ontario which are zoned for power production regarding their suitability for hosting new generation plant including nuclear power.
