Darlington Nuclear’s Unit 1 successfully refurbished five months ahead of schedule

Ontario Power Generation’s (“OPG”) Darlington Refurbishment project is now in the home stretch. Unit 1, the third of four units to be refurbished at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, successfully completed its overhaul five months ahead of schedule and will soon be returned to the grid.

The 878-megawatt (MW) unit was taken offline for refurbishment in February 2022. Prior to this, Unit 1 ran for more than 1,000 consecutive days, setting a world record for continuous operation of a nuclear power reactor. It now joins Darlington’s Units 2 and 3, which returned to service in June 2020 and July 2023 as a nuclear success story. Unit 4, the final unit undergoing refurbishment, is currently in the reactor rebuilding phase and is progressing on schedule to wrap up the 10-year mega-project.

“Aecon is proud of its role as the Canadian constructor on this historic project that will help meet the growing energy demands of future generations,” said Thomas Clochard, Executive Vice President, Nuclear and Civil, Aecon. “We look forward to continuing to successfully implement unit-over-unit lessons learned to deliver this critical refurbishment program – leveraging the proven one team approach between Aecon, AtkinsRéalis and OPG.”

Together, these refurbished units will provide 30-plus years of low-carbon, reliable, and affordable power to support Ontario’s growing and electrifying future. Darlington Nuclear provides about 20% of Ontario’s electricity, enough to power more than 2 million homes.

Since the project began in 2016, Aecon has worked with OPG and joint venture partner AtkinsRéalis to apply lessons learned on each subsequent unit to achieve efficiencies and schedule savings. This includes an industry-first combined pressure tube and calandria tube removal process.

“With the refurbishment of another unit, OPG, our employees, and our project partners continue to demonstrate that we can execute major nuclear projects not only on time, but ahead of time, and with a clear commitment to quality,” said Ken Hartwick, President and CEO, OPG. “This latest milestone reflects our decade of preparation and planning, as well as our dedication to quality and innovation, and the hard work of our entire project team, vendors, skilled trades, and energy professionals.”

Aecon is also the prime constructor as part of an Integrated Project Delivery partnership delivering North America’s first fleet of commercial small modular reactors at OPG’s Darlington Nuclear site.

About Aecon

Aecon Group Inc. (TSX: ARE) is a North American construction and infrastructure development company with global experience. Aecon delivers integrated solutions to private and public-sector clients through its Construction segment in the Civil, Urban Transportation, Nuclear, Utility and Industrial sectors, and provides project development, financing, investment, management, and operations and maintenance services through its Concessions segment.