Canada completes refurbishment of another nuclear unit at Bruce

Unit 3 at Canada’s Bruce nuclear power plant has returned to service after more than 3 years. Technicians completed the outage, which involved replacing major components and extending the unit’s operating life by more than 30 years, 7 months ahead of schedule. Half of the site’s eight nuclear reactors have now undergone the refurbishment programme, which employs more than 20,000 people. Canada has a total of 17 operable reactors commissioned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.

Canadian energy company Bruce Power announced that it had completed the refurbishment of Unit 3 at the Bruce nuclear power plant significantly ahead of schedule. The CANDU unit, with an installed capacity of 816 MWe, returned to service after 3 years and 3 months. The planned outage to replace major components (Major Component Replacement – MCR) was originally scheduled to last until January 2027.

“Unit 3 is now back in service, supplying the province with safe, clean, reliable and affordable electricity. This continues to show that major nuclear projects in Ontario can be delivered safely and efficiently, while providing real long-term financial benefits for local consumers,” said Eric Chassard, president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power.

As part of the refurbishment, the unit underwent replacement of major components, including key parts of the primary circuit such as steam generators, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and feeder pipes. The unit, which has been generating electricity since 1978, is now expected to remain in operation until the early 2060s.

A major nuclear reactor refurbishment programme

Bruce Power began refurbishment work on Unit 3 in March 2023, while the same process was still under way on Unit 6. The first two units at the Bruce plant had been refurbished earlier. The plant is therefore now halfway through its refurbishment programme. The operator expects the site to generate electricity until 2064. The company plans to refurbish the final unit in 2033 and estimates that more than 22,000 skilled workers are involved in the programme each year.

“With the support of the best workers, engineers and skilled tradespeople from around the world, we are delivering the reliable, affordable and clean energy needed to sustain a strong and more self-sufficient economy,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines.

Canada currently operates 17 nuclear reactors commissioned between 1977 and 1993 at four nuclear power plants. New nuclear construction in the country is expected to be led mainly by small modular reactors.