GE said on 30 June that Ontario Power Generation (OPG) had selected GE Steam Power for a $120 million turnkey installation project, featuring both hardware and software technologies, as part of its ongoing refurbishment of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Canada. This project will play an important role in enabling Darlington to continue delivering nuclear power to Ontario for at least the next 30 years. Today, Darlington generates more than 20% of Ontario’s electricity needs.
The agreement between OPG and GE Steam Power includes the turnkey installation and commissioning of steam turbine and excitation control system upgrades, as well as generator and auxiliaries refurbishment for three units. “GE Steam Power has enjoyed a strong, long-standing partnership with OPG in showcasing nuclear energy’s role as a critical pillar of a carbon-free future,” said Lance Hall, General Manager, GE Steam Power Americas. “We’re proud to support OPG as a single-service provider for the entire steam turbine and generator refurbishment scope at Darlington.”
GE Steam Power has been supporting Darlington with its long-term refurbishment strategy that began in 2013. Previous projects include the supply of a 400-ton generator stator in 2019, ongoing support with steam turbine/generator maintenance outages, and resident engineer service since the plant began operation.
In September 2020, the 878MWe Darlington unit 1 set a record for continuous operation of a nuclear power reactor by working for 963 days without a stoppage. The Darlington Refurbishment Project will enable the four Candu reactor units to operate until 2055, and will take 10 years to complete. The refurbishment of Darlington 3 began in September, after a four-month postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Refurbishment of Darlington 1 is scheduled to begin in 2022 and Darlington 4 in 2023. The project is scheduled for completion by 2026.
