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Re-sequencing of work should enable the Corps to complete the dismantling and decommissioning of the power plant by the end of 2029. To be learn more read the article below.

The Pickering nuclear power plant east of Toronto consists of an A unit, which has two mothballed reactors and two about to go out of service forever, and a B unit with 4 reactors built in the 1980s. The Ontario government has asked for yet another extension to keep the reactors running until 2026. Their license runs out this year. But apparently, Ontario has now agreed to pay $2 billion to do engineering and to order long-lead components to refurbish the B units. $2 billion committed before we even know the cost of the refurbishment. But nearby Darlington is costing $14 billion for 4 reactors, so that gives you an idea of the order of magnitude. That project is apparently running well, ie. on schedule and budget, which is quite a different thing than either cheap or quick. The timeline is also fascinating: the refurbishment would start in 2028 and be completed "by the mid 2030s", and that is considered a "compressed timeline". That's to refurbish 4 existing reactors, not to build a whole new power plant. If we're honest, the cost of these refurbishments, like the totally unknown cost of decommissioning these plants when they ultimately come to their end of life, was baked in when we built them. Ontarians had all but signed the (blank) cheque for this project back in the 1980s- on behalf of their kids. On the plus side, this will eventually continue making low GHG power for Ontario. The safety record of the CANDU fleet has been exceptional too. But with so much nuclear and run-of-river hydro on Ontario's grid already that Toronto sells kWh to homeowners from 11pm to 7am for 2.4 cents each, plus 1.9 cents delivery, I wonder what we could have done by spending $13 billion on storage instead? Well, we can at least say that this investment is better than the feds spending $30 billion on a pipeline to move Athabasca bitumen to a market that doesn't want it. https://lnkd.in/gifzjfp3

This article quotes someone as saying they are looking at two nuclear power plant sites for potential development. A restart would only be considered if it could be done safely and economically. If I had to guess, here are a few candidates for restart: Duane Arnold Energy Center: Located outside of Cedar Rapids, IA, the DAEC was a well-running plant with a small O&M footprint that was shut down early due to storm damage in 2020. “There would be opportunities and a lot of demand from the market if we were able to do something with Duane Arnold,” said John Ketchum, NextEra’s chief executive officer, during an earning call in July. There is a substantial data center presence adjacent to this site. Oyster Creek It is more of a long shot, but this plant, now owned by Holtec, the same company doing the Palisades restart project, might be a candidate. The project needed cooling towers to enable restart due to ecological impacts. Those projects were not cost-justified in previous markets, but given its location and energy demands in the region, it could pencil in now. Kewanee At only 566MW, it's a relatively small plant, but it could be a candidate for restart with a colocated power deal. Kewanee has been shut down for a long time, and restarting would be a big project. Previously owned by Dominion, which has pivoted more towards the regulated business, there may not be much interest in pursuing a restart. https://lnkd.in/e6BM3ihY

The first phase of the dismantling of the reactor vessel at Italy's Garigliang nuclear power plant has been completed with the removal of contaminated metal components from the deflector, the upper part of the vessel Gaugliano, a 150 MWe boiling water reactor, was connected to the grid in January 1964 and was shut down in 1982. Italy decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chemobyl accident and State-owned SOGIN was established in 1999 to take responsibility for decommissioning the country's former nuclear power sites and locating a national waste store. In preparation for the removal of the vessel, the aurxiliary systems of the reactor building have been restored (electrical, ventilation, automation and control systems) and the flooding circuit of the vessel and the reactor channel within which the operations take place, from where the carbon steel fuel racks and thear support structures were removed. This is the most complex activity from an engineering and operational point of view, which Italy will face for the first time. The dismantling of the Gangliano plant will produce a total of about 268,000 tonnes of materials. Of these, approximately 258,000 tonncs (96%) will be sent for recycling, mostly made up of metals and concrete 👏🏾🇮🇹☢️🌍💡

Best invest in Building Fusion power, space, and maritime propulsion systems and industry, You talk about Nuclear (meaning Fission) and fail to discuss fusion. https://lnkd.in/ge_aeX7M The nuclear fission industry is, ignorant of what's happening around you. Pull your uranium heads out, start adjusting your industry to fusion energy and start preparing to enter the commercially growing fusion energy industry. As it dawns on Earth like the sun. Great Headline Guardian on Nuclear fission. https://lnkd.in/g8sMZtpR Fission is moving towards obsolescence at an accelerated pace, as it is "out of step, out of time, out of place," and merely a temporary industry globally. https://lnkd.in/gbd_mZqk Commercial fusion electrical generation is a promising innovative sustainable and clean energy method. By 2028, Helion is expected to start producing electricity from its first fusion commercial power plant, which will provide electricity to Microsoft. The plant will produce at least 50 MWe after an initial ramp-up period. https://lnkd.in/gY9J3MQY Now see what is happening in the Fusion industry in the world. https://lnkd.in/g9hMBD7a As fission trebles, fuel shortage is increasingly real, read below. https://lnkd.in/gze5rwpr

This is exactly how it should be done - a cycle of lessons learnt incorporated into continuous improvement to be delivered more efficiently with each cycle.

Palisades Nuclear Plant is on the path to revival, marking a historic milestone in American energy history. Palisades is set to illuminate around 800,000 homes, providing reliable and emission-free electricity to countless families. This revitalization effort isn't just about reopening a plant—it's about leading the charge in clean energy innovation and economic growth. This announcement underscores the significant impact this restart will have, generating $363 million in regional economic benefits and creating 600 jobs. Palisades isn't just a power plant; it's a beacon of opportunity for Michigan's workforce and communities. As bipartisan partners join forces to drive this initiative forward, we're witnessing the power of collaboration in action. Palisades' reopening is a testament to our commitment to combat climate change, prevent millions of tons of carbon emissions, and pave the way for a brighter, cleaner future. Let's celebrate this milestone and continue to advocate for clean, reliable, and safe nuclear energy solutions! #RestartPalisades #CleanEnergyFuture #NuclearRevival #EconomicGrowth #NuclearEnergy Holtec International https://lnkd.in/gp_3gwwb

#NuclearPower #NuclearWaste #Canada #NuclearWasteManagementOrganization #NWMO #OntarioPowerGeneration #OPG #NewBrunswickPowerCorporation #HydroQuébec "As demand for cleaner energy swells worldwide, Canada is searching for a place to store its stockpile of spent nuclear fuel. Its choice will affect generations to come as experts look to limit the long-term burden of managing the radioactive by-product, which experts say will remain hazardous "essentially indefinitely." In late 2024, two Ontario communities will vote on whether to approve a potential $26-billion nuclear waste site in the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area in northwestern Ontario and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario. They are the two remaining options out of more than a dozen other locations that have been screened out or withdrew. For more than 50 years, nuclear power reactors in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick have been producing electricity from low-carbon nuclear energy for homes and businesses, according to the Toronto-based Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The country's nuclear electricity producers, Ontario Power Generation, New Brunswick Power Corporation and Hydro-Québec, created the organization in 2002 to develop solutions for managing used nuclear fuel. To date, the country has amassed a stock of 3.2 million bundles of used fuel. According to the NWMO, that amount could fill nine hockey rinks to the boards if stacked on their sides. It says it’s developing ways to safely manage it. For now, the spent fuel is sitting inside seven licensed facilities near nuclear power stations in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, and in one laboratory in Manitoba. "Today’s method is safe, but temporary," the organization wrote on its website. "It requires ongoing maintenance and management, which isn’t sustainable over the very long period the material must be contained and isolated." Instead, developers are looking to store the spent fuel deep underground. The facility would sit more than 500 metres below the surface – which is just short of the height of Toronto’s CN Tower. "Today, after more than a decade of detailed studies led by our science and engineering teams, the NWMO is confident that a deep geological repository could safely contain and isolate Canada’s used nuclear fuel at either of the two potential sites," it wrote online. The deep geological repository uses a multiple-barrier system, which the organization says follows international best practices and takes feedback from Canadians and Indigenous Peoples into consideration. It noted the plan aligns with the long-term management approach adopted by other countries with nuclear power programs such as Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and France. ..." https://lnkd.in/geJrVJtw

Don’t do it, especially in the Alberta Tarsands Tarnation where we can’t even manage 19th century risks like abandoned oil & gas wells or selenium laced coal mines! 1 bad day could ruin the neighbourhood for 10,000+ years?⚠️☢️⛔️⚠️ Globe & Mail - Adam Radwanski: AtkinsRéalis tries to rally Canadians around a new nuclear future. AtkinsRéalis is playing to Canadians’ patriotism as it attempts to reposition this country as a leader in nuclear technology by building the 1st new CANDU reactors in decades. 
The Montreal-based engineering firm, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, is starting a publicity campaign that it is calling “Canadians for CANDU,” for which it has enlisted former PM Jean Chrétien & former Ontario premier Mike Harris to serve as co-chairs. 
Although the company’s new Monark model is still in an early stage of development with a goal of deployment around 2035, & has not yet been licensed, there have recently been some signs of momentum. Last week, it announced an intellectual-property agreement with the federal government that is also supposed to involve a joint effort to seek international buyers, as the company also pursues procurement agreements with several provinces, starting with Ontario.

But in an interview, AtkinsRéalis CEO Ian Edwards addressed the imperative to convince audiences at home & abroad that there is a need for significant new nuclear-power generation during the global shift to low-carbon energy. And likewise that his company, which took ownership of the Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s CANDU division in 2011 & subsequently struggled to leverage it as SNC-Lavalin fell into scandal before a leadership change and rebranding – is capable of meeting that demand. 
“We are the sole proprietor of the CANDU technology, & as such we feel the responsibility to ensure that public opinion & businesses & governments, in Canada & outside of Canada, are aware of its unique & important role in the journey to net-zero emissions,” he said. 
Edwards framed the message of the campaign, launched at a Canadian Nuclear Association conference in Ottawa, as 3-fold. It will involve arguing that the fight against climate change can’t be won without large-scale nuclear investment; that CANDU reactors can compete with those produced elsewhere because of their efficiency & security attributes; & that there is an opportunity for major domestic economic benefits. 
On the first point, about the necessity of such technology to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, AtkinsRéalis is pushing against perceptions that increasingly cheap wind & solar power combined with advances in energy storage make nuclear moot. Arguing that all forms of non-emitting power will be needed to sustainably meet rising electricity demand during the move away from fossil fuels, Edwards repeatedly cited COP28 at which 22 countries (including Canada) signed a declaration calling for nuclear capacity to be tripled globally by mid-century.

Canada’s international nuclear reputation is synonymous with CANDU reactor technology. A feature in the National Post, Inc. this morning detailed the most powerful and advanced iteration of the technology that AtkinsRéalis introduced last month: the CANDU MONARK. The domestic CANDU supply chain consists of over 250 companies and 76,000 well-paying jobs. This includes engineers, scientists, manufacturers, and constructors. Writing in the feature, the Society of United Professionals President Michelle Johnston comments: “Ultimately, the success of the CANDU MONARK with its world-beating Canadian IP and existing made-in-Canada nuclear supply chain, will guarantee not just low-carbon energy independence, but will also ensure future generations of unionized Canadian jobs that will continue to support our families, our communities, and our economy." Make no mistake: this is something that no other large reactor technology can provide. Only CANDU technology is truly Canadian. And only CANDU technology will create and sustain jobs in this country on such a large scale. We're thrilled to have the support of one of Ontario's major labour organizations for the CANDU MONARK, as we look to deploy it in Canada and around the world. We're entering a global period of demand that we estimate contains opportunities for over 1,000 reactor new builds. #MONARK #CANDUforCanada #NetZeroNeedsNuclear https://lnkd.in/gkpBj_XZ