Bruce Power announced that Unit 6 has been renewed and has been connected to Ontario’s electricity grid following its successful Major Component Replacement (MCR) outage to provide clean, reliable power to the province’s people, hospitals and businesses for decades to come.
The Unit 6 MCR began in January 2020 and was completed ahead of schedule and on budget despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the efforts of dedicated Bruce Power employees, industry partners and skilled tradespeople. It is the first unit to be returned to service as part of Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program, which will see Units 3-8 refurbished over the next decade to power Ontario forward, extending the units’ operation period to 2064 and beyond. It comes at a time during which the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) expects the need for clean energy to soar.
The Bruce Power Refurbishment project is No. 3 on our 2023 Top100 Projects report.
Bruce Power’s Life-Extension Program is Ontario’s largest clean-energy initiative and one of Canada’s largest private sector infrastructure projects, funded by private-sector investors. Bruce Power provides between $9 billion and $12 billion in direct and indirect economic activity in Canada from operations and its Life-Extension Program, creating tens of thousands of jobs and economic development.
“We’re proud of our people and partners, all of our suppliers and unions – the Power Workers’ Union, Society of United Professionals, Building Trades, Canadian Union of Skilled Workers (CUSW), and United Steelworkers Union (USW) members,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s president and CEO. “As one of the largest nuclear operators in the world, refurbishing our units is key to providing clean, reliable energy to the people of Ontario well into the future. We have shown strong performance and we’ve committed to providing the lowest-cost nuclear energy in Ontario and to bettering our performance in each successive MCR outage.”
Unit 3 was removed from service for its MCR outage earlier this year and is reaping the benefits of lessons learned in Unit 6 to achieve time and cost savings. Several innovations were realized in Unit 6 that will be carried forward to improve performance and quality in subsequent MCR outages, including tooling and inspection automation and robotics, and advanced modelling and training.
“Congratulations to the Bruce Power team and partners on the successful return to service of Unit 6,” said Todd Smith, Ontario’s Minister of Energy. “Bringing this refurbished unit back online ahead of schedule is a great example of how we’re Powering Ontario’s Growth. We’re already a world leader in clean energy generation and today’s good news only proves that we have the experts and the Made-in-Ontario supply chain to meet increased electrification needs and power our economic growth.”
Each MCR Project extends the reactor’s life for 40 years by replacing and upgrading key equipment. Hundreds of companies and thousands of tradespeople replaced 480 fuel channels, 960 feeders and eight massive steam generators, in addition to thousands of other modifications and tasks, including loading 5,760 new fuel bundles into the core.
Featured image: (Bruce Power)
