Canadian energy utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has approved a C$12.8bn (US$9bn) investment to refurbish the four units of the 3,512 MW Darlington nuclear power plant in Ontario (Canada).
The Darlington power reactor operating licence for OPG's Darlington NGS was to expire on 31 December 2014 and was extended until 31 December 2015 in August 2014. The Darlington NGS counts four operating CANDU reactors, rated 878 MW each, which started commercial operation between 1990 and 1993. The refurbishment is expected to extend by about 30 years the lifetime of the units, initially due to stop operations around 2020.
During works, Ontario Power Generation will continue to operate the 3,100 MW Pickering nuclear power plant until 2024, as approved by the Ontario province. The Pickering nuclear power plant consists of eight units of 515 MW each and was commissioned between 1971 and 1986; six units (about 3.1 GW) are currently operational and the units 2 and 3 (commissioned in 1971 and 1972) were shut down in 2007 and 2008, respectively. OPG will operate six units until 2022, when two will be shut down; the remaining four will run until 2024.
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