Ontario Leads the G7 by Building First Small Modular Reactor

With electricity demand in Ontario set to soar by at least 75 per cent by 2050, the Ontario government has approved Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plan to begin construction on the first of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington nuclear site. Once complete, this SMR will be the first of its kind in the G7, producing enough reliable, affordable and clean electricity to power the equivalent of 300,000 homes, supporting thousands of good-paying jobs across the province and helping secure Ontario’s energy supply for decades to come.

The construction of the four units will support the government’s plan to protect Ontario’s workers and economy by creating up to 18,000 Canadian jobs and injecting $500 million on average annually into Ontario’s economy. The construction, operation and maintenance of the four units will add $38.5 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next 65 years. The government has worked with OPG to ensure that 80 per cent of project spending goes to Ontario companies and that construction and operations will protect Ontario workers and jobs by sustaining an estimated 3,700 highly-skilled, good-paying jobs for the next 65 years.

“This is a historic day for Canada as we start construction on the first small modular reactor in the G7, creating 18,000 jobs for Canadians,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines. “This nation-building project being built right here in Ontario will be led by Canadian workers using Canadian steel, concrete and materials to help deliver the extraordinary amount of reliable and clean power we will need to deliver on our ambitious plan to protect Ontario and unleash our economy.”

The BWRX-300 is a small-scale nuclear reactor that uses commercially available uranium to generate power. The four SMRs will be vital to powering new homes, historic investments to build Ontario and fuel a thriving economy. Once complete, they will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of 1.2 million homes, to help bridge a power gap that could emerge in the early 2030s in the absence of net-new baseload power sources added to the grid.

More than eighty Ontario companies have already signed agreements with OPG to deliver this first-of-a-kind project, establishing themselves as leaders in the growing domestic and global markets for new nuclear technologies. The government has also negotiated additional commitments from GE Hitachi that will create jobs in Ontario, that will soon be unveiled.

Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) concluded that the Darlington New Nuclear Project is the best option to meet growing demand in terms of costs and risks, when compared against non-emitting generation alternatives. This, combined with OPG’s outstanding track-record on the Darlington Refurbishment Project, factored into the government’s decision to support the Darlington New Nuclear Project.

Within Canada, the Ontario government and OPG are collaborating with power companies in Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick as they work towards the deployment of SMRs in their jurisdictions. Around the world, the government has helped secure job-creating agreements that deploy Made-In-Ontario components to build SMR’s for the world.

Advancing construction on the Darlington New Nuclear Project SMRs is just one part of Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future, the government’s vision as it plans for rising energy demand.

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