The refurbishment of Unit 1 at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS) has been completed five months before its scheduled completion. It is the third of four units now refurbished by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) as part of the Darlington Refurbishment Project. Unit 4 is tracked to be completed by 2026. The refurbishments will help deliver clean energy to Ontario’s electricity grid amidst increasing electricity demands. The Society advocated assiduously for the lifecycle extension of the Darlington units in order for the province to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Society members played a pivotal role in the unit’s refurbishment. They were engaged across all stages, from preplanning, commissioning, execution, return to service, and close-out documentation. Senior Technical Engineer Officers, Work Control Team Leaders, Construction Coordinators, Contract Coordinators, Project Leaders, Performance and Improvement Officers, Quality Officers, Business Process Specialists, and Section Manager Outage, among others, worked on the refurbishment and were crucial to the project’s success.
The refurbishment of Unit 1 ensures that consistent clean energy will be provided over the next 30 years. According to the Conference Board of Canada, the Darlington Refurbishment Project is expected to generate $90 billion in economic benefits for the province and will create 14,200 jobs per year over the 30-year life span of the nuclear power reactors.
