Nuclear advocate calls $26.8 billion refurbshment of Ontario plant ‘Nation building at its best’

The announcement that the Ontario government has officially green-lit the refurbishment of Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is welcome news to the co-founder of a grassroots organization spreading the word about nuclear energy for more than four years.

Canadians for Nuclear Energy President Chris Keefer called the announcement, made by Energy Minister Stephen Lecce Wednesday, “one of the most important industrial decisions in modern Canada.”

The $26.8 billion refurbishment is expected to create more than 30,000 jobs during construction and sustain 6,700 jobs during operations and increase Canada’s GDP by $41.6 billion.

About 90 per cent of the expenditures will be spent in Canada.

“This is nation building at its best. Pickering has earned the right to be rebuilt,” said Keefer, who also called the decision a “genuine victory” for Canadians for Nuclear Energy and the ‘Save Pickering’ campaign that began in 2021.

Pending final licensing approvals from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ontario Power Generation will begin refurbishment of Pickering B units 5 to 8 in early 2027, with completion expected by the mid-2030s. Once completed, Pickering will generate an increased capacity of up to 2,200 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to powering 2.2 million homes.

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe, Ontario Energy MInister Steven Lecce (left) and Ontario Finnce Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy at a nuclear announcement in Pickering

“For more than 50 years, nuclear power has been the backbone of Ontario’s energy grid, with the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station as one of the best-performing and continuously operating nuclear stations in the world,” said Lecce. “To deliver on our major jobs plan to get Canadians working, extending the life of the facility will create jobs for tens of thousands of skilled workers while we build up the Ontario supply chain and keep 90 per cent of our project spend in this country.”

The refurbishment will extend the facility’s operations to deliver affordable, reliable and clean power for up to 38 years.

According to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator, the province’s demand for electricity is forecast to increase “significantly” by 2050 and OPG CEO Nicolle Butcher said the investment today will ensure this “clean energy workhorse” will continue to power Ontario for future generations.

The expertise developed during Darlington’s refurbishment, which is nearing completion and ahead of schedule, is more evidence, she added, that OPG is “ready to deliver another complex nuclear project – on time, on budget, safely, and with quality.”

The Pickering “B” refurbishment is also expected to secure a long-term supply of Cobalt-60, a life-saving medical isotope used worldwide in cancer treatments and in the sterilization of medical equipment and food products, while supporting the government’s work to double the number of medical isotopes produced in Ontario over the next four years.

“I am thrilled with this landmark announcement that secures the future of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station for generations to come,” said Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe. “This critical refurbishment will deliver clean, reliable power, create thousands of good jobs, and support local businesses, while powering Ontario’s transition to electrification, meeting the energy needs of a growing province, and supporting cancer care and the healthcare sector worldwide.”

Durham Chair John Henry called the refurbishment a “critical step” toward securing the clean, reliable and affordable energy needed to power electrification, new technologies and growing demand for decades. “This project will extend the station’s life and create opportunities for lifesaving medical and industrial isotope applications, while sustaining thousands of highly skilled jobs. It’s great to see the province investing in nuclear projects that will help power Ontario’s future.”

Dr, Chris Keefer

The secret to Pickering Nuclear’s success over the years has been its reliability, noted Keefer, who cited 2022 when all six units ran 109 consecutive days through the heart of summer and 2023 when the station supplied 14 per cent of provincial demand.

“Very few power stations anywhere in the world can match that record of stable, high-volume output in the moments when reliability is non negotiable,” he said. “Refurbishment also works because CANDU technology was designed for it. Pressure tubes, feeders and steam generators can be replaced to return the reactor to as-new condition.”

Keefer said refurbishments at Pickering and Bruce have proven that this is a “repeatable industrial process” that can be delivered on budget and ahead of schedule. “Pickering will benefit from every lesson learned from OPG’s project management discipline.”

Though the decision to go ahead with the refurbishment was not a surprise to insiders, as late as October 2024 the plant was still working with a deadline of the end of 2026. Further operation of Pickering B units would require a complete refurbishment.

OPG completed early engineering and design work, as well as securing components that require the longest-lead times, and the Project Initiation Phase was approved in January.

“For Canadians for Nuclear Energy this moment is a validation,” Keefer said. “Volunteers wrote the Save Pickering report, dug through the data and made the case that the cheapest clean megawatt is the one you keep and rebuild. Today the province has chosen to invest in its own people, its own technology and its own industrial capacity. Pickering refurbishment is more than an energy project. It is a decision to keep Canada building.”