Ontario Power Generation, province plan 3 more small modular reactors at Darlington plant

Ontario is planning three more small modular reactors at the site of the Darlington nuclear power plant, an announcement that comes the same week the energy minister said the province is moving forward with a new, large-scale nuclear facility.

The power generated by the small modular reactors — four in total, with one already being built at Darlington, located in Clarington, Ont., which is about 70 kilometres east of Toronto — and the large plant planned at Bruce Power on the shore of Lake Huron would be 6,000 megawatts, or enough to power the equivalent of six million homes around the mid-2030s.

That is around when electricity demand is projected to start rising even more quickly and forecasts from the Independent Electricity System Operator from before the recent spate of announcements show a supply gap of about 5,000 megawatts at that time.

Energy Minister Todd Smith pointed to electric vehicle battery plants being built in Windsor, Ont., and St. Thomas, Ont., along with battery component manufacturing facilities such as Umicore in eastern Ontario and transitioning steel production from coal to electricity in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

"These five investments alone are going to increase annual electricity demand by eight terawatt hours a year," Smith said.

"How much is that, you say? Well, that's the equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the Ottawa region."

Smith also noted that the province is working toward building 1.5 million new homes by 2031 and that electric vehicle use is expected to keep increasing.

Small modular reactors use similar technology to traditional nuclear power plants, but they are much smaller.

Nuclear reactors to help end reliance on natural gas

Building new nuclear reactors was one of the recommendations in a report late last year by the IESO, which looked at how the province could end its reliance on natural gas to generate electricity, even in the face of sharply rising demand.

It found that the province could fully eliminate it from the electricity system by 2050, starting with a moratorium in 2027, but it will require about $400 billion in capital spending and more generation including new, large-scale nuclear plants, more conservation efforts, more renewable energy sources and more energy storage.

The IESO has said that natural gas is required to ensure supply and stability in the short to medium term, but that it will also increase greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector.

Environmental advocates have said Ontario could meet its energy needs through renewables rather than gas, and some raise concerns about nuclear power due to its cost and the waste it generates. A group of MPs also warned in April of risks with forging ahead with small modular reactors, as they are still relatively untested, not being widely used anywhere in the world.

Smith said he is confident that Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will ensure the project's success.

"I have full faith in the team here at OPG, especially given the track record on the refurbishments that are underway," he said of work being done on the large-scale plant at Darlington.

"[They] have brought in these multi-billion dollar refurbishments on time, ahead of schedule, under budget."

OPG president and CEO Ken Hartwick said that with work already underway on one SMR at Darlington, a fleet is a logical next step there.

"From an economic standpoint, it just makes sense, building multiple units here, driving down regulatory, construction and operating costs, while also eliminating risk for other jurisdictions looking to deploy the same technology," he said at the site.

"We will also be able to leverage common infrastructure — some of what you can see being built now to support four units rather than just one — and this will further reduce our costs for ratepayers."

Subject to the regulatory approvals, the additional three SMRs could come online between 2034 and 2036. Construction on the first one is set to be complete by 2028.

Smith announced Wednesday that pre-development work was starting to build a new, large-scale nuclear plant on the site of Bruce Power's current generating station on the shore of Lake Huron in Tiverton, Ont. He said Friday he isn't ruling out also adding SMRs there, too.