OPG said the reactor has been rebuilt and the containment restored, and the project team is reconnecting the unit to the plant and returning it to service.
In October 2019 OPG said Unit 2 would return to service by June 2020 rather than February 2020. The delay was a result of delays related to fabrication and installation of feeder tube components.
Darlington-2 is the first of the Darlington station’s four Candu units to undergo refurbishment in a project that will enable the station to continue operations until 2055. All four units are to be refurbished in a phased CAD 12.8bn ($8.9bn, €8bn) project which is scheduled for completion by 2026.
Each of the four units will be taken out of service for three years for work to be carried out.
Unit 3 refurbishment is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year, starting with unit shutdown followed by outage work, which will involve fuel channel replacement.
OPG said the project team continues to work on plans and preparations for the refurbishment of Units 1 and 4, based on operating experience and lessons learned from Unit 2 refurbishment.
Overall, the Darlington refurbishment project remains on budget and on schedule for completion in 2026.
Ten Candu units in Canada are being refurbished between 2016 and 2033 – four at Darlington and six at Bruce. The Pickering nuclear station will continue to operate until 2024 to provide baseload electricity during the Darlington and Bruce refurbishments.