Construction is beginning on a major overhaul of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, a project designed to keep four of the facility’s CANDU reactors operating for up to another 38 years.
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station/Credit: To Do Canada
Pickering B Units 5 through 8 are scheduled to be removed from service by the end of September 2026. Reactor refurbishment work is expected to begin in January 2027, subject to final approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Once the work is complete, the four refurbished units are expected to generate up to 2,200 megawatts, which the province says is enough electricity for about 2.2 million homes.
Per the news release, crews will replace 1,520 fuel channels and 48 boilers, along with building a 1.5-kilometre deep-water intake.
Two major contracts have now been awarded. Aecon Group and Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company, have a roughly $1.7-billion contract for work on Unit 5. Aecon and Siemens Energy Canada have also received a $1.3-billion contract covering turbine-generator replacement, including 14 steam turbine rotors and work on four generators.
The scale of the workforce is significant. Ontario estimates the refurbishment will support approximately 30,500 jobs annually during construction, while another 7,500 jobs across Canada are expected to be supported over the project’s lifespan. The province also estimates the project will contribute $41.6 billion to Canada’s GDP, with more than 90 per cent of project spending remaining in Ontario and Canada.
A new 200,000-square-foot training and mock-up facility is also being built to prepare more than 2,800 skilled trades workers before refurbishment activities.
OPG president and CEO Nicolle Butcher called the project an extension of Pickering’s more than 50-year operating history, saying it will support “thousands of local jobs” while keeping the station in service for future generations.
For Durham Region, the province estimates the refurbishment will generate more than $17 billion in economic activity across the region and Ontario.