Canada’s federal nuclear regulator has issued construction licence to utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to build a General Electric Hitachi (GEH) BWRX-300 reactor at its Darlington new nuclear project site in Clarington, Ontario.
The licence, which includes site-specific conditions, is valid until 31 March 2035.
Ontario energy minister Stephen Lecce said the Darlington SMR will be the first of its kind in the G7.
OPG is ultimately planning for four SMRs to be built at the Darlington site, next to the existing Darlington nuclear power station, which has four operational large-scale nuclear plants.