$26.8 billion to refurbish Pickering nuclear. Yes?

Pickering’s reactors were built in the 1970s beside a town that has since grown up around them, and they were supposed to be off by now. Instead, in November the province gave Ontario Power Generation the go-ahead to refurbish units five to eight: $26.8 billion for about 2,200 megawatts, for up to four more decades.

The argument for is sitting next door. Darlington’s four-unit refurbishment finished its construction phase this year four months ahead of schedule and $150 million under its $12.8-billion budget, with the last unit back at full power in March. Beside it, the first grid-scale small modular reactor in the G7 is under construction; OPG applied for its operating licence in March and is aiming to connect it by the end of 2030.

The argument against comes in two kinds. One is about money and alternatives, since $26.8 billion buys a great deal of wind, solar and battery, and one is about geography: refurbishing means committing to a reactor site on the waterfront of a city that did not exist in its current form when the plant was sited.

Durham has decided it is the energy capital of the province. This is the question of whether the rest of the region agrees.

Sources: NucNet, Darlington finishes early and under budget · ANS, OPG completes the Darlington refurbishment · Power Magazine, the first grid-scale SMR approved · OPG, the Darlington SMR