Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced on 13 May that its Centre for Canadian Nuclear Sustainability (CCNS), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and SNC-Lavalin had signed a Collaboration Agreement on nuclear decommissioning. This will focus mostly on NPPs with Candu reactors.
Canadian design Candu reactors have been built in Argentina, Romania, China, India, Pakistan, and South Korea. There are more than 30 Candu reactors globally. OPG’s Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, with with eight Candu reactors, four each at two sites (A and B), will reach the end of its commercial operations in 2025, subject to regulatory review. Two units at Pickering A (1&4) have already closed and been defuelled. OPG said it is committed to safely and sustainably dismantling and remediating the site. Candu Energy, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has an extensive decommissioning portfolio in both the USA and Europe. Pickering represents the largest such project to date in Canada.
CNL’s expertise in decommissioning, packaging and storage, and environmental protection will be leveraged by OPG to safely dismantle and repurpose the Pickering nuclear site.
“The solutions we develop through this group will be applied not only in Pickering, post commercial operations, but have the potential to be used internationally and create jobs and opportunities for Canada’s nuclear industry at home and abroad,” said Carla Carmichael, OPG Vice-President, Decommissioning Strategy.
This collaboration agreement brings together three key players in the Canadian nuclear industry to:
- build on Ontario’s extensive nuclear industry expertise and highly skilled workforce to drive best practices and innovation to deliver safe, cost-effective and timely nuclear decommissioning projects;
- explore the potential for international decommissioning-related opportunities for the Canadian nuclear industry; and,
- identify future skills needs and gaps, and develop plans to fill any such gaps, building skills sets that could be leveraged for projects in Canada and abroad.
OPG said, working together, the three organisations will advance studies and planning that will help to create Canadian jobs and cement nuclear’s role in creating a carbon-free future. The collaboration positions these organisations’ workforce and Canadian supply chain to support the decommissioning of Candu reactors around the world.
