Search

ONTARIO POWER GENERATION HAS SELECTED GE-HITACHI'S BWRX-300 REACTOR FOR CONSTRUCTION AT THE DARLINGTON NUCLEAR  GENERATING STATION

​"The BWRX-300 is a 10th generation boiling water reactor developed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy. "
OPG APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE TO CONSTRUCT BWRX-300 REACTOR(S) AT DARLINGTON
THE DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS NOVEMBER 4, 2024
Ontario Power Generation  intends to construct four boiling water reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, and has submitted a license to construct the first of the four. The deadline to submit comments to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and get on the agenda to present at the January 8th 2025 hearing is November 4th (the hearing notice with details is HERE). 
Who should present? 
  • residents of Durham Region  and the Greater Toronto Area concerned about nuclear safety, radioactive releases and emergency preparedness
  • residents of Ontario concerned about nuclear cost overruns and impacts on electricity rates
  • Canadians concerned about climate change and the delays in real climate action brought about when utilities and governments are distracted by nuclear greenwashing
  • anyone concerned about the long-term burden of nuclear waste, including current proposals by the nuclear industry to transport, process, bury and abandon all of Canada's high-level nuclear waste in a single location
How do you prepare and submit comments? 
  • choose from the documents listed below; the Day 1 hearing is a good place to start; watch the webcast and read the CNSC and/or OPG submissions for an overview
  • focus in on just one or a few of your concerns; read the information provided by CNSC and OPG and prepare your comments in response; if you would like to read more about public concerns, review the submissions for the January 2024 hearing from civil society groups and Indigenous organizations commenting on why there should be a new impact assessment (scroll down to the hearing date, and click on Download a particular PDF document for the January 23-25, 2024 public hearing)
Submit comments by November 4th 2024 by emailing [email protected] or using the online form. 
KEY DOCUMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2024 DEADLINE (JANUARY 2025 HEARING ON OPG'S APPLICATION FOR A LICENSE TO CONSTRUCT BWRX-300 REACTORS)
  • Day 1 Hearing, October 2nd, 2024
    • Archived webcast for October 2nd hearing is HERE
    • Transcript for October 2nd hearing is HERE.
    • Agenda for October 2nd hearing is HERE
ONTARIO POWER GENERATION INTENDS TO CONSTRUCT 4 BWRX-300 REACTORS AT DARLINGTON NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION (2023)
October 2023 - Assuming a green light on the CNSC decision following  a public hearing in January for the Commission to decide if the 2009 Environmental Assessment is still applicable (and a current EA / Impact Assessment therefore not necessary), the CNSC has announced December 8th as the deadline for participant funding for the reviewing of OPG's application for a licence to construct for the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP). 
This next round of hearing (round 3 - first round was to comment on staff on the applicability of the EA, second round is to comment in a Commission hearing on the applicability of the 2009 EA) will be for the review of the OPG license to construct application and to participate in the eventual hearing.  Deadline to apply is December 8th. The notice HERE.   The participant funding application is HERE.
 
April 2023 - CNSC announced that it will conduct a public hearing on applicability of the Darlington New Nuclear Project environmental assessment and plant parameter envelope to selected reactor technology (the same topics were the subject of comments to CNSC staff in March 2023).

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) will hold 2 separate public hearings to consider the application from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for a licence to construct a reactor facility for its Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP). The first hearing will be held during the week of January 22, 2024 and will focus on the applicability of the DNNP environmental assessment (EA) to Ontario Power Generation’s selected reactor technology. The second hearing is currently expected to be held in late 2024. 
OPG’s hearing submission and CNSC staff’s recommendations to be considered at the hearing will be available on the CNSC website, or on request to the Commission Registry, after September 18, 2023
​
For other OPG documents related to the project, please see supporting documents and resources.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Review Documents are HERE.
CNSC DECISION TO NOT REQUIRE AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT IS HERE
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE JANUARY 2024 HEARING CAN BE VIEWED HERE 

NOVEMBER 2023 DEADLINE: COMMENT ON EIS REVIEW AND PPE BY NOVEMBER 20th; COMMISSION HEARING ON JANUARY 22, 2024.
November 20th was the deadline for the second round of submissions commenting on whether the 2009 Environmental Impact Statement and the Planning Parameter Envelope are still still relevant. The notice is HERE

In March 2023 comments were submitted to CNSC staff. Those submissions are not posted by the CNSC, but included submissions by Northwatch, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Canadian Environmental Law Association on behalf of Durham Nuclear Awareness, and Ontario Clean Air Alliance. They are available HERE

​Key Documents for November comments (as of June 2023) ​Click HERE for additional and newly added documents.
 December 2022 - The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) solicited feedback on two documents (OPG's Updated Plant Parameter Envelope Report and Environmental Impact Statement Review Report) "from individuals, interested groups, and Indigenous Nations and communities. Comments were accepted on these documents until March 20, 2023 and will remain posted thereafter. The CNSC will not respond to comments during this phase of the licensing process; however, the comments will inform CNSC staff’s technical review of the documents." Click HERE for more of this CNSC post. Click HERE for the OPG web site or click on these titles:  
Media
Quick Links
CNSC and Polish regulator to collaborate on BWRX-300, February 2023
OPG announces team GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), SNC-Lavalin, and Aecon for Darlington NGS, 27 January 2023
Proponent selects BWRX-300 for Estonia, February 8 2023
GE-Hitachi submits generic application in UK, December 2022
OPG Applies for Construction license for Darlington site, November 2022
Canada  fronts $970 million for OPG's BWRX-300, October 2022
TVA, GEH cooperate on BWRX-300 at Clinch River, August 2022
Saskatchewan selects BWRX-300, June 2022
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, BWXT Canada and Poland's Synthos Green Energy Sign agreement for BWRX-300www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Collaboration-for-Polish-deployment-of-BWRX-300,  December 2021
  • Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission web page on "Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) pre-licensing consultation" (Fall 2022-Spring 2023) HERE
  • CNSCS "Open Government" information page about DNNP HERE (includes reports, recordings of webinars, document lists)
  • CNSC page on New Reactor Projects  (information about CNSC process, not about actual reactor projects) HERE
  • CNSC- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission "collaboration" on BWRX-300 HERE
  • Ontario Power Generation web page on "new nuclear" and  BWRX-300 new build at Darlington HERE
  • View CNSC short videos by "Small Modular Reactor Specialists" HERE
  • View recording of CNSC webinar "OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear Project –Licensing Review Update" June 2023 HERE
  • View the recording of Ontario Power Generation's January 19 2023 webinar HERE
  • View recording of Ontario Power Generation's December 2022 webinar HERE
  • OPG Presentation at  CNSC DNNP EIS Review Workshop April 2023, PDF
    English presentation HERE
  • CNSC  Registry of Substantive Documents for the Darlington New Nuclear Project HERE
Ontario Power Generation has Submitted their Application to Construct the BWRX-300 at Darlington
On October 31, 2022, OPG  has submitted an application for a Licence to Construct to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). This licence application is the next step in the deployment of a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at the Darlington site.  The application was developed collaboratively between OPG and GE Hitachi, and is comprised of a number of information packages that will be submitted to the CNSC in sequence, over the next six months. The CNSC has announced a deadline of December 2nd to apply for participant funding to support the review of  2 Ontario Power Generation (OPG) documents: Use of Plant Parameters Envelope to Encompass the Reactor Designs being Considered for the Darlington Site and Darlington New Nuclear Project Environmental Impact Statement Review Report for Small Modular Reactor BWRX-300.

OPG Announces Selection of GE Hitachi's BWRX-300 SMR for Darlington ​

2 December 2021 - Ontario Power Generation has selected GE Hitachi's BWRX-300 reactor for construction of up to four "small modular" reactors at the Darlington Nuclear site. ​GE-Hitachi's BWRX-300e reactor is a 300 MW boiling water reactor that will use 3.4 to 4.95% enriched uranium for fuel. OPG. According to OPG, site preparation will begin in the spring of 2022, pending appropriate approvals, OPG said they aim to apply to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a construction licence by the end of next year, and could be completed by the end of 2028.  Read more from the Globe and Mail. Word Nuclear News, and Ontario Power Generation (click on each to open). ​
Picture
Images "courtesy" of GE-Hitachi
  • GE-Hitachi promotional web apge on BWRX-300 HERE
  • GE-Hitachi Promotional 1 pager on BWRX-300 HERE
  • 1 hour promotional video hosted by "The Nuclear Alternative Project" HERE
  • U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Pre-Application Review  HERE
    • ​BWRX-300 Advanced Civil Construction and Design Approach HERE
  • IAEA Status Report on BWRX-300 (2020) HERE
In September 2020, the International Atomic Energy Agency produced the report ADVANCES IN SMALL MODULAR REACTOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS 2020 Edition. This 354 page report provides 3-4 page summaries of over 70 designs, including all those listed in the two tables on this page. Read the four page excerpt about the BWRX-300 HERE 
Another uncritical IAEA report, also from 2020, provides a 38 page overview of the BWRX-300 reactor. Read it HERE
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has a  "Pre-Licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR) " service it offers to prospective reactor vendors. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's  BWRX-300  reactor is in a Phase 2 review, which commenced in January 2020. Phase 2 reviews are estimated to take two years. A Phase 1 review was not undertaken; with an asterick, the CNSC web site notes that "*Phase 1 objectives will be addressed within the Phase 2 scope of work." There is no report available of CNSC's review or observations to date, and no access provided to the documentation that GE-Hitachi has provided. See the CNSC web page HERE
ALSO OF NOTE:
July 2021 - Cameco, GE Hitachi and Global Nuclear Fuel to Examine Potential Collaboration to Support BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor Deployment HERE
Additional Notes
  • The GEH BWR fuel assemblies are about 4.5 m long, and weigh about 300 kg.  In comparison, CANDU fuel bundles weigh less than 24 kg and are half a metre long . The burnup range of CANDU fuel is about 120-320 MWh/kg U, with a mean burnup value of 200-220 MWh/kg U. At this burnup, about 2% of the initial uranium has been “burned” and converted into other atoms. GEH BWR fuel is designed for higher burnup of about 1200 MWh/kg U. [Source: NWMO-TR-2022-14, March 2022]  In summary: BWR fuel assemblies are 9 times longer and 10 times heavier than a CANDU fuel bundle.