The Canadian province of Ontario plans to switch on North America’s first small modular reactor (SMR) by 2030 after the provincial government last week gave the nod for construction to start.
Province-owned Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said the first of four planned SMRs at its Darlington Nuclear site will have a 300MW generating capacity, enough to power around 300,000 homes.
The SMR plant will have a combined output of 1.2GW when all four units are built.
The Ontario government approved construction for the first BWRX-300 unit on 8 May.
OPG president and chief executive Nicolle Butcher called it a “truly historic moment”.
“This made-in-Ontario project will support provincial companies, create jobs for Ontarians, and spur growth for our economy,” she said, adding she was confident the SMR would be built on-time and on-budget.
Provincial approval is the final hurdle after OPG received a licence-to-construct from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in April.
Reactor core on the way
Preparations have been underway since 2022.
These include procuring long-lead components like the reactor pressure vessel containing the reactor core, coolant, and support structures.
It’s the largest component, measuring some 30m in length, 6m in diameter, and weighing 550 tonnes.
Also being prepared is the generator rotor, which converts heat from the reactor into electricity. It has been forged and is now undergoing pre-machining. It’s expected to arrive at the project site by summer 2027.
TBM named after famous physicist
Crews have also been installing electrical and water utilities and ancillary buildings, including the on-site fabrication building, and they continue to excavate the shaft for the reactor building.
This summer OPG expects delivery from Germany of the project’s tunnel boring machine for drilling the 3.4km-long condenser cooling water tunnel, with its diameter of just over 6m.
Nicknamed “Harriett Brooks” after Canada’s first female nuclear physicist, it will be assembled from early 2026.
OPG is now hiring around 700 staff needed during SMR construction, including iron workers, millwrights and boilermakers.
“The site is prepared, parts are in motion, and the team is assembled. OPG is ready to build the future of nuclear, right here in Ontario,” OPG said.
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