The Canadian and Ontario governments announced that the Canada Growth Fund and the Building Ontario Fund will invest $3 billion to support the construction and operation of the four small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project. Ontario Power Generation will remain the majority owner and operator of the DNNP, with the Canadian and Ontario governments acquiring minority stakes in the project, at 15% and 7.5% ownership, respectively. It is expected that the SMRs will create 18,000 jobs during construction with 3,700 jobs during operation, while contributing $38.5 billion to Canada’s GDP over the next 65 years.
The first-of-its-kind project will make Canada the first G7 country to bring SMR technology online and drive $500 million annually into Ontario’s nuclear supply chain. Once complete, Darlington’s first of four SMRs will provide 1,200MW of reliable, affordable, emissions-free power to Ontario’s power grid.
The Society is glad to see cooperation between multiple levels of government. Together, the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario are demonstrating that Canada can work together to accomplish important major infrastructure projects.
