French nuclear equipment supplier Framatome have signed a CAD19m (US$14m) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Canadian utility Bruce Power for the modernisation of the Bruce A and Bruce B nuclear units as part of the Bruce power plant life extension programme. Framatome will be responsible for the design and the implementation of filtered containment venting systems in order to prevent the build-up of excessive pressure during the capture of fission products.
The 10-year power reactor operating license renewal was granted to Bruce Power by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in October 2018. The implementation of Bruce Power's life extension programme includes the refurbishments of Bruce units 3-8 and will allow them to continue operating until at least 2028.
The Bruce nuclear plant consists of eight reactors with a combined capacity of 6.3 GW. The first unit (Bruce-1) was brought online in 1977 and the last unit (Bruce-8) came onstream in 1987. The first two units (769 MW each) were refurbished in 2012. Bruce Power is operated by Bruce Power (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) 48.5%; TransCanada 48.5%). It currently produces around 30% of Ontario's power requirements.