Ramzi Jammal, Executive Vice-President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), has authorised the removal of the third regulatory hold point (RHP) for the Darlington unit 1 refurbishment project. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) may now exceed 1% full operating power for the refurbished reactor, to a maximum of 35%, for further testing and verification.
A hold point is a mandatory checkpoint that requires approval of the Commission or the delegated authority before an activity may proceed. One remaining RHP must be removed before unit 1 can be returned to service.
OPG’s refurbishment project will extend the life of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station for 30 years by enabling the replacement of components such as fuel channels and by making safety improvements to the plant, its programs and its processes.
Unit 3, the second Darlington unit to undergo complete refurbishment, was reconnected to the grid in July 2023. Unit 2’s refurbishment was completed in early June 2020 and since its return to service, it has experienced a record 529-day continuous run, while its overall generation was more than 10% above target. Unit 1’s refurbishment is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Unit 4 is also undergoing refurbishment with work progressing through reactor fuel channel removal and the turbine generator system.
Darlington Refurbishment is a CAD12.8bn ($9.7bn) clean energy project that began in 2016 after nearly a decade of planning and preparation. It will enable the station to operate for an additional 30 years.
