At a glance
OPG has taken Pickering Nuclear’s Units 5 to 8 offline in preparation for their refurbishment next year, pending regulatory approvals.
The company and its project partners continue to plan and prepare for refurbishment work with the help of local suppliers.
Pickering's refurbishment will help secure more than 2,000 megawatts of power for Ontario’s future, enough to power about 2 million homes.
OPG's President and CEO, Nicolle Butcher, and project leaders visit the Common Services Building, a 38,000-square-foot modular building that will be used by vendor partners for the Pickering Refurbishment.
A storied chapter in Pickering Nuclear’s history is drawing to a close – and a new one is set to begin.
This past September, OPG took Pickering Nuclear’s Units 5 to 8 offline in preparation for Ontario’s next major nuclear refurbishment project.
Pending regulatory approvals, refurbishment work on these units, starting with Unit 5, is expected to begin early next year. This planned transition marks both the end of decades of clean, reliable operation from these units and the beginning of the station’s renewal to help power Ontario’s clean energy future.
Over the years, Pickering Nuclear has consistently met up to 14% of Ontario’s electricity needs.
“Since it first began operating in 1971, Pickering Nuclear has established itself as one of the world’s largest and best-performing nuclear facilities,” said Nicolle Butcher, OPG’s President and CEO. “Through its refurbishment, we will ensure this important station continues to play a vital role in powering Ontario for future generations.”
At the station and across the province, OPG continues to advance preparation for the massive, complex refurbishment program – among the largest infrastructure projects in Canada. This includes constructing a new 200,000-square-foot Retube Feeder and Boiler Replacement Training and Mock-up facility and advancing manufacturing of major components, including steam generators, with supply chain partners.
On Sept. 21, the Province of Ontario announced more than $3 billion worth of contracts have been signed with major Canadian partners to execute Pickering’s refurbishment. This includes a retube, feeder, and boiler replacement contract with Aecon Group Inc. and Candu Energy worth approximately $1.7 billion and a turbine-generator replacement contract with Aecon Group Inc. and Siemens Energy Canada worth approximately $1.3 billion.
Aiding this project will be more than 8,000 lessons learned through OPG’s under-budget, ahead-of-schedule Darlington Refurbishment Project, which was completed in March.
Once complete, the refurbished Pickering Nuclear will secure 2,100 megawatts of clean, reliable electricity for another 30-plus years – enough to power the equivalent of more than 2 million homes.
The project will help meet Ontario’s growing electricity demand, support economic growth, strengthen the province’s nuclear supply chain, and create and sustain thousands of jobs across Durham Region, Ontario, and Canada. It will also be a significant contributor to Canada’s energy security.
“Through its refurbishment, we will ensure this important station continues to play a vital role in powering Ontario for decades to come.”
Nicolle Butcher President and CEO, OPG
Pickering Refurbishment by the numbers
of clean, reliable power secured
homes powered
jobs set to be created
project spend within Canada
increase to Canada's GDP
Preparing for a mega-project
A view of steam generators under construction for the Pickering Refurbishment at BWXT Canada.
OPG's Pickering Refurbishment team visits supplier BWXT Canada.
OPG's President and CEO, Nicolle Butcher, visits the Common Services Building, a 38,000-square-foot modular building that will be used by vendor partners for the Pickering Refurbishment.
OPG has partnered with CanAtom to build a full-scale dome mock-up for the Pickering Refurbishment to prepare for cutting into the top of the reactor dome.
The new Retube Feeder and Boiler Replacement Training and Mock-up facility will provide a training mock-up of Pickering Nuclear’s lower boiler assembly, a unique aspect to this refurbishment.
The Pickering Refurbishment team visits supplier ATS Automation.
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