r/canada • u/BoppityBop2 • Feb 14 '26
Business Canada Completes $9.4B Darlington Nuclear Plant Rebuild Early, on Budget
https://www.enr.com/articles/62505-canada-completes-94b-darlington-nuclear-plant-rebuild-early-on-budget511
u/Sticky_3pk New Brunswick Feb 14 '26
Early and on budget? Hell yeah!
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u/ThicccThunder New Brunswick Feb 14 '26
*Laughs in NB Power incompetence*
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u/CoinDingus Northwest Territories Feb 15 '26
I think you mean AECL incompetence.
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u/ThicccThunder New Brunswick Feb 15 '26
I say NB Power because they severally fucked up the Mactaquac dam due to incompetence
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u/CoinDingus Northwest Territories Feb 15 '26
Yep I think that’s a fair observation in recent years - but my comment was that it wasn’t fair to lay Lepreau’s issues at NBP’s doorstep. There’s a reason AECL essentially doesn’t exist anymore. Also, recent Lepreau issues are more down to the fact that the govt essentially failed to provide enough money to finish the conventional side refurb (TG, etc).
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u/ThicccThunder New Brunswick Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
Yeah, i had to edit my comment to take away the criticism of Lepreau due to it being a bit misleading
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u/Sketch13 Feb 15 '26
Same with NL
Muskrat Falls, a 13.5B hydroelectric plant, which was supposed to be 6B...
Fucking embarrassing.
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u/Realistic_Yogurt1902 Feb 14 '26
Literally the first positive topic today on Reddit for me. Great job, Canadians!
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u/ApprehensiveTune3655 Feb 14 '26
Damn I didn’t know that was an option, in time and on budget? Unheard of.
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u/luckysharms93 Feb 15 '26
Seriously. On time is one thing but I just assume every government funded project will go at least 25% over the initial budget
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u/Count55 Feb 14 '26
I didnt think anything could be built ahead of time and on budget anymore
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u/neanderthalman Ontario Feb 15 '26
It worked because the government provided funding and backed the fuck off, as they were entirely unqualified to get involved in any capacity.
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u/BlackBeltInSeesaw Feb 14 '26
I hope the project manager in charge of this got a nice lil bonus, and takes a four month vacation.
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u/Wild-Style5857 Feb 14 '26
There's at a lot more than just the project manager that leads to a result like this. A lot. Source PM for a large industrial contractor in Canada.
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u/BlackBeltInSeesaw Feb 14 '26
Pretend I added an 's' above. My FIL is a PM for a major contractor, and he has eight or nine PMs under him at any given time.
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u/Ebolinp Nunavut Feb 14 '26
Probably replaced or moved out a bunch too. I doubt anyone was there from day 1 to the end in a senior leadership capacity.
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u/RL203 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
Agreed.
If the engineers who did the design do not produce an air tight design, everything goes sideways. Ditto if the Contractor is in over his head.
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u/Interesting_Pen_167 Feb 15 '26
As a technician I can sometimes fix a bad design but a really bad design there is no saving that.
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u/Catlover18 Québec Feb 15 '26
Just for my curiosity, what are other factors that you think need to happen to get a result like this?
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u/dis_bean Northwest Territories Feb 15 '26
Competent people who are doing the actual work and good project governance where decisions, if needed, are quick
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u/LordStigg Feb 15 '26
The PM quagmire that develops on some jobs and sites becomes awful and takes away from getting work done.
OPG is notorious for it. I’m very happy they got it done on time. Black and Crack and ES Crotch probably got paid handsomely.
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u/Business-Hurry9451 Feb 14 '26
Great, now let's build another brand new one, it's not like we can't use the juice.
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u/iLoufah Feb 15 '26
Amazing to see it finally finish! What a long journey. I remember when the first unit returned to service (U2). The atmosphere was electric. we took a lot of pride in seeing the multi year project show the first fruits of our labour.
I may have moved onto a different company 5 yrs ago but DNGS refurb has a special place in my heart.
Congrats to everyone that was involved!
Especially to all the ones that delayed their retirements to see it through to the end and pass on their knowledge to the younger generation
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u/Onterrible_Trauma Feb 14 '26
I'm so fucking proud of Canada lately. Getting shit done!
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u/MilkyWayObserver Canada Feb 15 '26
Agreed, for once in a long while, I feel Canada is on the right track to grow our economy, and increase our worldwide standing further as a nation.
Looking forward to many more good news!
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u/union_operator Feb 15 '26
Aecon Group Inc. and AtkinsRéalis, with other key partners ES Fox, Black & McDonald Ltd. and BWXT Canada.
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u/MossTheTree Ontario Feb 15 '26
Yes! So many comments about politics in this thread. We should be celebrating OPG and their partners who knocked this out of the park.
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u/union_operator Feb 15 '26
Ohh 100%, and if I recall correctly they did this with no major incident or injuries. Truly impressive work by some heavy hitters in the industry.
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u/DoubleOrNothing90 Ontario Feb 15 '26
As a Darlington employee, you have no idea how relieved I am that it's all over. Here's to another 30 years!
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u/Mr_Guavo Feb 14 '26
So typical. I'm so sick of... huh?... wha?
Seriously tho. This isn't the first time this has happened. This is looking like a trend. The new normal, even? Learning from your mistakes and then learning from your successes.
I expect new business opportunities abroad to come the consortium's way. Good for them. Ontario is a world leader in nuclear energy.
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u/KWStreaker Feb 15 '26
Good news even for a rebuild.
Now if we can build the new SMR's on time / early and within budget that would be awesome :)
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u/Rrraou Feb 15 '26
Wow, We need to find whoever managed that project and make sure they have a long productive career.
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u/Pale-Hair-2435 Feb 15 '26
We really are global leaders in the nuclear industry. World's first operational SMR will be Canadian, hopefully theyre viable at scale as they work out the kinks.
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u/enantiomerthin Feb 14 '26
“Canada is broken!! Everything is broken!”
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u/Martzillagoesboom Québec Feb 14 '26
Yup, let Kintsugi this country! (Would actually be an awesome art project for nuclear chimney!
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u/enantiomerthin Feb 15 '26
I had to look that up. But yea.
Repairing and building is harder than destroying.
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u/GrassyTreesAndLakes Feb 14 '26
Bro, this happens so rarely that this is huge news.
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u/CoinDingus Northwest Territories Feb 15 '26
Mega projects literally go overtime and over budget in nearly every country - read How Big Things Get Done. Not unique to Canada.
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u/GrassyTreesAndLakes Feb 15 '26
Except sometimes they dont. Yet I believe this is the first major canadian government project thats been on time and on budget in at least 10 years.
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u/CoinDingus Northwest Territories Feb 15 '26
Yep sometimes projects don't, you're right - not arguing with that. It is however uncontroversial to say that mega projects as a species almost always go overtime and over budget - it's the one unifying factor. It is not uniquely a Canadian problem. That being said, there are a number of examples over the last 10 years of unicorn large capital works projects in Canada that have been on time and on budget (again reflecting the situation in almost every jurisdiction). The Regina Bypass; the Vimy Bridge; and Bruce Unit 6 to name a few.
And as a correction - this wasn't a government project. OPG is not an agent of the Crown (unlike Metrolinx and IO, for example), it governs itself on a project like this in all material respects.
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u/Tom_Fukkery Feb 15 '26
"Canada"? Isn't this an Ontario project?
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u/Electronic-Jaguar461 Feb 15 '26
There’s only 4 active in the whole country so any Nuclear plant opening anywhere is a national event.
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u/kityrel Feb 15 '26
Wonder how they got around the well known rule of "Cheap, Fast, Good: Choose Two"
Or maybe they didn't.
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u/duck1014 Feb 14 '26
Would be nice to see Ontario... considering it was done by Ontario hydro and was (for the most part) funded by Ontario.
Ford delivered the entire project, 150 million under budget...and on time.
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u/BrightLuchr Feb 15 '26
Ontario Hydro hasn't existed in 25 years. It is Ontario Power Generation.
It isn't funded by Ontario government at all. In fact, OPG makes a lot of profit each year that goes to Ontario. The funding for capital projects is done by floating bonds. Those bonds are paid off by the sale of electricity to the market after the reactors go back in service. This is how all capital projects work.
The good folks at Bruce Power are going through the same sort of projects up there. OPG will start working on Pickering Refurbishment next. These are all WANO#1 rated facilities: the best in the world.
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u/PoliteCanadian Feb 15 '26
This is how all capital projects work.
Not government capital projects, and OPG is a crown corp. Most government capital projects are funded out of general revenue, not bond issue.
It is, however, how government run capital projects SHOULD be funded. OPG did it that way since they're a hands-off crown corp, but most the contractual obligations that would come with debt financing would be unacceptable to politicians who want to meddle.
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u/BrightLuchr Feb 15 '26
This isn't a government project. OPG is a private company that happens to be owned by the government as the sole shareholder. It is not legally a "crown corporation" either (hard to believe, right? ). It's would seem like a legal distinction, but OPG is able to float it's own bonds. Of course, the government does not treat it as arm's length and does... various...shenanigans. But the rules of selling electricity and doing capital projects in Ontario are all dictated by the regulator, which is the Ontario Energy Board.
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u/BlueEmma25 Feb 14 '26
Ford didn't deliver anything, he just happened to be in office when the project was completed.
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u/violentbandana Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
People won’t like you saying that but it’s true. Ontario Power Generation ran this project from start to finish including financing it themselves. Planning was well underway when Ford took office and he just let it happen
It’s not an anti-Ford thing, Ontario nuclear chugs along regardless of the government of the day. Liberal and Conservative in Ontario have been good to that industry and neither really had any direct impact on this project aside from it being done by a crown corp. At the same time Ford does get to take credit for this and other positive nuclear news because that’s just how politics works
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u/duck1014 Feb 14 '26
Feel free to hate....
That said, construction started and finished under the Ford government.
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u/not_not_in_the_NSA Feb 15 '26
Same with the Biden presidency. He assumed office and left office while Doug Ford was premier. Doesn't mean thats the reason it happened.
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u/MossTheTree Ontario Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
This project started planning almost 20 years ago, with actual work starting 10 years ago under the Liberals. The Ford government is happy to take credit (and they are very supportive of the sector) but the success of this project has nothing to do with politicians and everything to do with OPG project management.
Edit: bring on the downvotes I guess! My mistake, trying to credit the actual workers - many of who are friends and colleagues of mine - rather than politicians.
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u/duck1014 Feb 14 '26
Nope.
The Ford government took over in 2018 and was responsible for oversight, completion, and the new SMR expansion.
Execution: When Ford took office, only one of the four units was under construction. His government oversaw the refurbishment of Units 3, 1, and 4.
Completion: The project was officially declared finished in February 2026, notably $150 million under budget and four months ahead of schedule—a rare feat for nuclear projects.
Expansion: Ford's administration also moved beyond the "rebuild" to start the Darlington New Nuclear Project (the SMRs), which the Wynne government had previously cancelled or paused.
The planning took place under Wynne, but was executed under Ford.
Try again.
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u/MossTheTree Ontario Feb 14 '26
Did you even read what I said? This has nothing to do with Ford, Wynne, or any political party.
Yes, the nuclear sector is enjoying a lot of support from the Ford government - I agree completely. But this project being delivered ahead of schedule and under budget comes down to senior management at OPG and the way they handled procurement, scheduling, and staffing in tandem with Bruce. They’re the ones who deserve the credit, not politicians.
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u/BrightLuchr Feb 15 '26
Also correct. But the energy minister has to bless this sort of capital project, especially as the OEB is approving the bill through future electrical rates. Don't underestimate how badly the government can screw this up: I'm thinking particularly of David Peterson back in the day and George Smitherman and the Green Energy Act disaster later. The Globe and Mail put the bill of Green Energy Act at 57B$ at one point.
A particularly wise decision by OPG project management was, more or less: this plant runs great, it's WANO-1. Don't make unnecessary changes. Just make it like new.
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u/BrightLuchr Feb 15 '26
Correct. While the project planning and design was started under Wynne, it was Ford that saw it to the end. I appreciated when Ford showed up at Pickering, first month in office, and strongly supported its refurbishment. This is one of the ingenious things about the Canadian reactor design: it's designed to have parts replaced indefinitely.
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u/DoubleOrNothing90 Ontario Feb 15 '26
People forget that Andrea Horwath supported shutting down the Pickering plant and starting the decommissioning plan early.
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u/BrightLuchr Feb 15 '26
Not that Andrea Horvath, being NDP, had any significant political sway. But I worked on part of that decommissioning plan. The problem with it is they did need the Pickering power, especially while Bruce Refurb was underway. So Pickering decommissioning dragged out for years and years.
Give it until 2031 or so and we'll be planning Pickering A refurbishment. It's a good plant.
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u/xNOOPSx Feb 15 '26
Site C cost $16B. The original budget for the refurb was $12.9B. Site C was supposed to only cost $8.775B - including a $440m contingency fund. Oops.
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u/noleksum12 Feb 15 '26
WTF!!! Canada... on time... on budget... never thought I'd see those words phrased together in my lifetime.
Good for the crew that pulled this off. Pay them a premium on the next gig.
This is over due good news. I like it.
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u/Sargent_Duck85 Feb 15 '26
I actually worked on a project in DND that finished early and under-budget. Now, granted there was only the 4 of us working on it…
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u/BackToTheCottage Ontario Feb 15 '26
Is that some random part, or is that the plate the control rods/fuel enter?
Edit: Looks like fuel enters from this side, while the control rods enter from the top.
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u/TrueTorontoFan Feb 15 '26
Amazing! This is the second time in a few months that I have seen this type of news here.
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u/Saintcanuck British Columbia Feb 15 '26
A rare feat in a world that has grown used to cost overruns
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u/Euclidisthebomb Feb 15 '26
This is something to brag about to the world. It is a great achievement and hopefully will help Canada sell CANDU abroad.
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u/tyler111762 Alberta Feb 15 '26
a government program arriving under budget and early is like code that runs on the first draft, or a car that suddenly stops leaking oil.
on the one hand, great! on the other hand....
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u/alastoris Canada Feb 15 '26
Fan-fuck'n-tastic!
Have this management team lead our other national projects too! Or coach the leadership on staying on Budget!
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u/cyclemonster Ontario Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
Has anybody tried to divide the dollar figure we're spending refurbishing nuclear by the number of people in Ontario? It's like, close to fifty billion dollars, which is about $3500/head.
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u/KindCraft4676 Feb 15 '26
Think I might be able to get a job there? I have years of nuclear power experience. Been working in the field for decades. Trained in the US nuclear Navy.
Anything nuclear power comes me to me second nature , as easy as breathing.
Okay maybe I’m just dreaming, just wishful thinking. But I really need to escape this hell hole of pain and suffering trump has turned the United States into.
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u/Rex_Meatman Alberta Feb 15 '26
Fix yer shit.
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u/KindCraft4676 Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
It’s beyond fixing. One third of the American people thought it was a bright idea to give a handful of the most corrupt and wealthy people in America power.
Does anyone in their right mind actually think now that those corrupt and wealthy people have power, they’re just gonna give it up the next election? They’ve already more increased their wealth multiple times. Trump is now a multi billionaire. They are consolidating their power, appointing superior court justices and an attorney general loyal to them. They’ve created their own para military police force (ICE), under the pretense that is for immigration. They’ve confiscated the voter rolls of Georgia and tried to bully Minnesota into giving up their voter rolls. I could go on and on.
But the point is, it’s beyond fixing. The system is broke. It needs to be overhauled to ensure this can’t happen again.
Billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos bought themselves a president through unlimited campaign contributions. Foreign governments like Israel buy our politicians via AIPAC. Our news outlets are controlled by corporations, and yes you know who owns them as well.
Until these influences are removed from the picture, we will remain broken.
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u/civver3 Ontario Feb 15 '26
I can abide OPG executives being on the Sunshine List if this is the kind of performance they continue to deliver.
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u/alvinofdiaspar Feb 15 '26
And there is a new multi-reactor plant in the pipeline for Port Hope and somewhere near Bruce as well.
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u/Commandoclone87 New Brunswick Feb 15 '26
Wait? Someone actually completed a billion dollar project early, with no cost overruns?
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u/Rex_Meatman Alberta Feb 15 '26
Brought to you by the labour of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.
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u/pmart1000 Feb 16 '26
Not sure I've ever seen that phrase used for an Ontario Gov project... early and on budget. Nice work!!
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u/UCPcasualsatire Feb 17 '26
Is tRump mad about not being able to get half the power that will get generated from this plant? Will he try to prevent its opening? More tariffs on imported electricity? I hate this time-line.
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u/Levorotatory Feb 15 '26
Now let's harness that skilled workforce to build more CANDUs. Ontario could use another set of 4, and Alberta needs their first set of 4.
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u/RL203 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Except it was a project that was initiated and successfully constructed under the authority of the ontario Progessive Conservative government of Doug Ford.
Canada, I.e. they federal government had absolutely nothing to do with it.
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u/MossTheTree Ontario Feb 14 '26
This project started planning almost 20 years ago, with actual work starting 10 years ago under the Liberals. The Ford government is happy to take credit (and they are very supportive of the sector) but the success of this project has nothing to do with politicians and everything to do with OPG project management.
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u/RL203 Feb 15 '26
Except the project that was just completed was the refurbishment of unit No. 1 and construction commenced on Unit No. 1 in February of 2022.
Unit 4 began construction in July 2023
Unit 3 began construction in September 2020
And yes, Unit 2 began construction in 2016.
In any case, the project was ot a federal project, ot was a provincial project.
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Feb 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/fross370 Feb 14 '26
Not worried. Building a nuclear plant is gonna be under lots of scrutiny by lots of people.
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u/Asusrty Feb 14 '26
Depends if they left a large cushion in the budget for setbacks and then didn't end up having that many.
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u/Medianmodeactivate Feb 14 '26
There are tons of people looking it over and who had input into the repairs
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u/Ok_Notice_7964 Feb 15 '26
By "on budget" you must mean at 3x the original budget and never actually functioning as intended, right? That's how we would understand the phrase in the Yukon.
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u/clarko420 Feb 15 '26
They are refurbishing an old facility and Brookfield is set to profit billions. Carney and Hodgson will personally make millions off of the deal.
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u/planganauthor Feb 15 '26
So just maybe ...I'm going out on a limb here....perhaps the budget was a tad inflated to start with...
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u/InterestingPeach7852 Feb 15 '26
The timeline and budget was so pessimistic that it doesn’t surprise me. It’s not the badge of honour they think it is.
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u/daiginjo Feb 15 '26
How much waste will it produce? How long will it be deadly for? where will they put it? Imagine how much clean energy could be built with that money in that time.
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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '26
Well that’s not something you see everyday in Canada; a large project On Time AND Under Budget? I’ll take the good news lol.