By Sama Marwan,
The government of Ontario, Canada, has received the green light to generate energy through the construction of the first of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at the site of the new Darlington nuclear project.
According to the energy-focused platform OilPrice, the reactor is expected to enter service in 2030, marking the first new nuclear construction in Ontario in over three decades.
The platform reported that Ontario’s government backed the C$20.9 billion project after the implementing company received a construction license last April from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The first reactor will cost C$7.7 billion, and all four reactors are planned to be built next to the existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, located east of Toronto.
The BWRX-300 modular plant is designed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a U.S.-based provider of advanced nuclear reactor and services. The plant will have a capacity of 300 megawatts, enough to power 300,000 homes. By comparison, each of the four traditional Darlington nuclear reactors provides 935 megawatts.
The government states that the new plant will help meet Ontario’s future energy demands, which are projected to increase by 75% by 2050.
Ontario is a province in east-central Canada, bordering the United States and the Great Lakes.
