Contract awarded for first SMR at Darlington

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission previously issued a license for construction of the SMR, which has also received final approval from Ontario’s provincial government. The project is the first new nuclear construction project in Ontario in more than three decades.

1.2 million homes: When all four 300-MWe BWRX-300 SMR units become operational, the Darlington New Nuclear Project—which is located on the same site as the refurbishment of Darlington’s four existing 878-MWe CANDU reactors—will have an electricity output of 1,200 MWe. That is enough advanced reactor–generated electricity to power about 1.2 million homes and help the province meet its growing energy demands, according to OPG.

Engineering services: Candu Energy/AtkinsRéalis will provide OPG with its expertise in project management, licensing, engineering, design, procurement, construction support, and commissioning. The company will also provide digital delivery capabilities for the nuclear island and balance-of-plant scopes of the project.

2030 target date: Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO of AtkinsRéalis, commented on the new contract, saying, “Our involvement in the G7’s [Group of Seven’s] first grid-scale SMR and Canada’s first nuclear new build in roughly 30 years reaffirms our leading position in the global nuclear energy market for both large and small reactor technologies. Our trusted relationship with OPG supporting hydropower assets and refurbishing CANDU reactors at Darlington and Pickering will support this project's successful completion by 2030.”

Alliance team: AtkinsRéalis became the architect-engineer on the Darlington New Nuclear Project alliance team in 2023. The company is collaborating on the project with BWRX-300 developer GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and with Aecon Kiewit Nuclear Partners, which is a general partnership between the construction/engineering firms Aecon and Kiewit Nuclear Canada.