Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will refurbish four units at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, Canada’s first major commercial generation plant— marking a major turnaround for the 3.1-GW plant slated to close by 2025.
Officials from Ontario’s government and OPG on Jan. 30 announced plans to refurbish Units 5–8 at the massive power plant east of Toronto, citing energy adequacy and affordability concerns as the province sets out to decarbonize its system by 2040.
Once entirely refurbished by the mid-2030s, the Pickering station will have a 2 GW capacity, officials said on Tuesday. OPG intends to kick off the massive project this year with the project initiation phase, which includes engineering and design work, as well as securing long-lead components.
According to Ontario Minister of Energy Todd Smith, the project will initiate with C$2 billion (US$1.49 billion), providing funding for scoping engineering design work that is expected to begin “over the next year or so.” He suggested that the scoping and engineering work is expected to inform OPG’s future steps, including a firm schedule and accurate cost estimates.
A Big Step that Staves Off an Imminent Closure
The 3.1-GW Pickering station in Ontario comprises six CANDU reactors at two distinct facilities—Pickering A (Units 1–4) and Pickering B (Units 5–8). The Pickering A units came online between 1971 and 1973 but were voluntarily removed from service in 1997. Units 1 and 4, however, were refurbished and returned to operation in November 2005 and September 2003, respectively. Pickering B—Units 5 through 8—began operating between 1983 and 1986.
While the plant supplies about 14% of Ontario’s needs, OPG has sought to shutter Units 1–4 at Pickering A in 2024, when the units’ current license granted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) ends. However, acknowledging a need for additional electricity through 2026, the utility in September 2022 kicked off a process to seek regulatory approval to operate Pickering B—Units 5–8—through September 2026.
Ontario had then asked OPG—a Crown corporation wholly owned by the province—to update its feasibility and cost assessment (last conducted between 2006 and 2009) for refurbishing the units to help meet the province’s growing needs. While OPG has acknowledged further operation of the plant beyond 2026 would require a “complete refurbishment,” it has underscored refurbishment could result in an additional 30 years of power from the facility.
Pickering Refurbishment Will Be Modeled on Similar Projects at Darlington, Bruce
On Tuesday, OPG CEO Ken Hartwick noted that all units at Ontario’s other two nuclear facilities—Darlington and Bruce Nuclear generating stations—are scheduled for or have completed refurbishment.
“Over the past 10 years, we have learned a lot about what it takes to refurbish a nuclear station the right way—with thousands of lessons learned from Darlington and Bruce Power that we will apply to Pickering. And we have mobilized an experienced nuclear workforce. We have a robust nuclear supply chain that is already tooled up and rolling,” Hartwick said. “In short, we have all the tools, talent, and experience to make Pickering refurb as successful as Darlington refurb, and we intend to advance this in a similar manner.”
Pickering will also benefit from prior engagement with the CNSC that OPG initiated to allow Pickering B to operate through 2026, Hartwick noted. “So there’s a very established and mature regulator that we have to work with, which gives us confidence that ultimately we’ll be in a place that can achieve the necessary regulatory approvals to be successful.”
While total project costs to refurbish Pickering remain unclear until the utility can establish a firm schedule, Hartwick noted that the provincial government, OPG’s sole shareholder, will hold it accountable to schedule and cost estimations. “But again, we remain very confident that this will be a very competitive source of energy for the province as we go forward,” he said.
Ontario Minister of Energy Smith on Tuesday said the decision to move forward with Pickering’s refurbishment was based both on OPG’s feasibility study and analysis by Ontario’s grid operator, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), to compare the Pickering refurbishment to adding renewables paired with battery storage.