As one of the companies under consideration to build a pair of new reactors near Toronto, Westinghouse announced Monday that it is preparing a range of detailed information for Ontario Power Generation to make the case for the AP1000 reactor.
Deliverables include cost estimates, detailed construction plans and schedules as the Toshiba subsidiary competes with Candu, the maker of Canada's existing heavy water reactors that was acquired by SNC-Lavalin from the Canadian government last year.
“Westinghouse is pleased to participate in the province’s information-gathering process,” Joe Zwetolitz, Westinghouse Americas president, said in a release. “Should the province select our AP1000 as the preferred option, we believe that Ontario’s infrastructure could become even more energy self-sufficient, creating local Canadian jobs during construction and opportunities for involving Canadian suppliers on this and future nuclear projects elsewhere in the world.”
The company pointed to four AP1000 pressurized light water reactors under construction at the Vogtle and V.C. Summer plants in the U.S., as well as four units under construction in China. Each site is expected to employ 3,500 construction workers at the peak of building.
Last month, the utility signed agreements with Westinghouse and Candu Energy soliciting the construction information as it makes final decisions on the project at the Darlington nuclear plant. According to OPG, the Canadian government approved the project's environmental assessment in May. Regulators are currently considering a site preparation license, the first of three licenses needed to build and operate the plant.