home Nuclear Attitude, U Showing the world what’s possible: Darlington Refurbishment construction completed ahead of schedule, under budget

Showing the world what’s possible: Darlington Refurbishment construction completed ahead of schedule, under budget

By John Dyer   Posted in Nuclear Attitude U
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  • Construction on the four-unit Darlington Refurbishment project is now complete.
  • With construction wrapped up and the last unit expected to return to service in the coming weeks, the overall project is currently four months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget.
  • The major project secures over 3,500 megawatts of clean, reliable, affordable energy for Ontario’s growing and electrified future.
  • OPG will leverage the project’s learnings to ensure our Small Modular Reactor project at Darlington and Pickering Nuclear’s refurbishment are delivered successfully as well.

  • After a total of 1,920 fuel channels and 3,840 feeder pipes replaced, and millions of hours worked, it’s official — construction on OPG’s Darlington Refurbishment is now complete and the project is set to be delivered ahead of schedule and under budget.

    An aerial view of Darlington Nuclear Generating Station.

    The company celebrated the major milestone as Darlington Nuclear’s Unit 4 wrapped up its refurbishment in early February. This was the final unit to be refurbished in the four-unit, $12.8-billion mega-project, which kicked off in October 2016 with Unit 2’s refurbishment.

    Station staff are now completing final testing ahead of the unit returning to full commercial operation. The overall Darlington Refurbishment project is currently forecast to be completed four months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget.

    “This is a momentous achievement for OPG, Ontario, and Canada,” said Nicolle Butcher, OPG’s President and CEO. “Through this project, we have demonstrated to the world that complex nuclear projects can be completed successfully, ahead of schedule and under budget. Our experience on this refurbishment, and the thousands of lessons we have learned, will serve as our foundation as we advance nuclear’s future. Darlington’s refurbishment has given us the confidence, the tools, and the skills to forge ahead.”

    This is a momentous achievement for OPG, Ontario, and Canada. Through this project, we have demonstrated to the world that complex nuclear projects can be completed successfully, ahead of schedule and under budget.
    Nicolle Butcher
    President and CEO, OPG

    The project’s success reflects a decade of meticulous planning and preparation, all of which took place before any work began. This included the construction of the world’s first full-scale reactor mock-up, which helped train and prepare workers before they stepped into the reactor vault.

    The project also benefited from the close collaboration of key project partners, vendors, thousands of skilled trades workers, including Indigenous workers recruited through OPG’s Indigenous Opportunities Network, and efficiencies and lessons learned from each unit overhauled.

    Now, with approximately 8,000 lessons learned, OPG will continue to leverage this experience to successfully execute future projects, including the Pickering Nuclear refurbishment, the deployment of four Small Modular Reactors at Darlington, and the proposed large nuclear development in Port Hope.

    Source: Darlington