June 22, 2006

ATOMIC ENERGY CANADA LTD.

Two CANDU 6 reactors under construction at Qinshan, China. June of 2000.

Construction

Ontario hot on building nuclear

But construction projects are still several years away

PETER KENTER

correspondent

TORONTO

Now that Ontario has put nuclear power generation back on the table with a budget for new and refurbished reactors that could weigh in at $46 billion, Ontario’s construction industry is ready to do its part. But the industry will have to wait several years before it learns when construction will start, or even what will be built.

“The first new refurbishment work not already scheduled will begin in 2014 on Pickering B,” says Suzanne Cowan, Communications Assistant to Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan.

The start of construction on new reactors will depend on a number of factors: a possible lengthy environmental assessment, the contractor chosen to supply the reactor, and a provincial election that could overturn the Liberal government’s energy plans. New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton has criticized the production of nuclear energy over conservation measures.

The provincial government has indicated an interest in buying a home-grown reactor from Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., provided the federal government, as AECL’s sole shareholder, guarantees the completion date and a fixed delivery price, with penalties for failing to meet either requirement.

If chosen, AECL will become the contractor for the construction of the facilities through Team CANDU, a consortium of AECL, General Electric Canada, SNC-Lavalin Nuclear, Babcock & Wilcox Canada, and Hitachi Canada Ltd.

If Ontario goes with the Canadian option, it could be purchasing one of two models, the current CANDU 6, which has already been built and operated in China, among other countries, and the Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR) models, the ACR-700 and the ACR-1000, which are currently undergoing a pre-licensing review in Canada and are designed for a 2016 in-service date.

ATOMIC ENERGY CANADA LTD.

A large crane moves the fuelling machine bridge into position on Qinshan Unit 1. June 2000.

Buying Canadian would mean a quicker start to construction, because the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the government body which regulates the Canadian nuclear industry, already has direct experience with the CANDU 6 and a close association with AECL. The purchase of a foreign-built reactor would require a ground-up safety review that could take considerable time to complete.

Regardless of which units are chosen, modern reactor construction differs considerably from previous generation models, with much of the construction occurring off-site to create modules which are hoisted in place by construction cranes.

“A lot has changed from the time we built Pickering, Bruce and Darlington,” says Murray Elston, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Nuclear Association. “There’s lots of building to be done, but much of it is now offsite. Changing to modular construction makes for a less busy site than in the old days.”

Elston says construction could begin on a new nuclear plant in four-and-a-half to five years.

“What you’d be looking at is three to five years for an environmental assessment and licensing, with about a decade from start to finish before commercial energy production begins.”

Dale Coffin, director of communications with AECL, notes that the CANDU 6 reactors, which are built in pairs — a production reactor, and a back-up reactor — generated about 586,000 person-years of construction employment when recently built in China.

“The first unit came in on time at 54 months, and the second came in at 48 months, ahead of schedule.

“We’ve perfected the modular construction process with the existing line and the ACR-1000 is an extension of that.”

Not so fast, says Tom Adams, executive director of Energy Probe.

“In the case of Darlington, the land was purchased in 1970 and serious engineering studies began in 1973,” he says.

“The plant was approved for construction in 1978 and wasn’t completed until 1993.”

Adams points out there’s never been a full environmental assessment performed on any Canadian reactor project.

“We should have an Ontario assessment, although Ontario will probably rely only on a federal assessment, but the proponents will have a lot of explaining to do on matters of nuclear safety and disposal of waste, among other issues,” he adds.

“Given a lengthy assessment process, I think it’s very possible that the completion of construction might take in the neighbourhood of 20 years.”

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