Major contracts awarded for OPG SMR and life extension projects
BWX Technologies Inc has been awarded contracts to manufacture the reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 small modular reactor to be constructed at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington New Nuclear Project site and 48 steam generators for the Pickering life extension programme.
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The separate contracts are worth more than CAD1 billion (USD696 million) in total.
The reactor pressure vessel - or RPV - is the largest component in the BWRX-300, containing the reactor core, coolant and support structures. BWXT was the first company to join the qualified BWRX-300 supplier group launched by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in April 2024. The company was awarded a contract for RPV-related engineering analysis, design support and manufacturing and procurement preparations in 2023.
"The contract to fabricate the reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 is another key milestone in the deployment of this technology,” said Lisa McBride, GE Hitachi's Canada Country Leader.
The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation small modular reactor (SMR) with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GEH's ESBWR boiling water reactor design. Early site preparation work at the Darlington New Nuclear site has been completed and construction of the first of four planned units is expected to start later this year, pending regulatory approval, with a view to commercial operation by the end of 2029.
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is the nuclear business of GE Vernova.
Steam generator contract
BWXT has also been contracted to manufacture 48 steam generators at its Cambridge facility in the province for the project to refurbish four Candu units at Ontario Power Generation's Pickering nuclear site. BWXT will be carrying out the work for the Aecon-AtkinsRéalis joint venture CanAtom.
The contract is worth CAD960 million over seven years, and will create more than 250 highly skilled trades jobs, in addition to engineers and other staff, according to the Government of Ontario.
The government announced on 22 January that it had given Ontario Power Generation (OPG) the go-ahead to move onto the project definition phase for the Pickering life extension programme, authorising it to sign a CAD2.1 billion contract with CanAtom for early engineering and procurement to prepare for the execution of the Retube Feeder and Boiler Replacement Program. The life extension programme will enable Pickering units 5-8 - sometimes referred to as Pickering B - to operate for an additional 30 years, and is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s.
"By refurbishing existing assets at Pickering Nuclear, and building SMRs at the Darlington New Nuclear Project, OPG is helping Ontario meet rapidly growing demand for low-carbon, reliable baseload nuclear energy," said OPG President CEO Nicolle Butcher.
Preparatory work is taking place for a CAD80 million expansion of BWXT's manufacturing facility in Cambridge, Ontario - the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facility in North America - to support small modular reactors, traditional large-scale nuclear and advanced reactors, in Canada and around the world. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2026, and Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Energy and Electrification, said the province is leveraging its nuclear advantage. "Ontario needs more nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand, and it’s our province’s highly skilled workers that will make it all possible," he said.
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