The Ontario government has approved Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plan to proceed with the project definition phase, the next step towards refurbishing four units at the Pickering nuclear power station to secure more power and create thousands of jobs across the province.
As part of the preparation for refurbishment, the government said it has authorised OPG to sign a CAD2.1bn ($1.46bn, €1.4bn) contract with CanAtom, a joint venture of Aecon and AtkinsRéalis, for early engineering and procurement to prepare for the execution of the retube feeder and boiler replacement programme.
Once refurbished, Pickering would produce more than 2,000 MW of electricity, equivalent to powering two million homes, to help meet increasing demand, driven by electrification and the province’s surging economic growth.