Ontario will build its first new nuclear reactor in 15 years at the existing, provincially-owned Darlington site east of Toronto on Lake Ontario.

Darlington, operated by Ontario Power Generation, won out over the privately-owned Bruce nuclear plant on Lake Huron near Kincardine. The Bruce site lands are leased from the province on a long-term basis.

The new Darlington plant will house two separate units.

Energy Minister Gerry Phillips had previously said that the limited transmission capacity from the Bruce area gave Darlington an edge.

Darlington is in Durham region, which is reeling from the loss of thousands of high-paying manufacturing jobs at General Motors auto plants in Oshawa.

"Hallelujah," Oshawa Mayor John Gray told CTV Toronto on Monday. "We need good news."

Gray said he expects the plant to bring hundreds of spin-off jobs and new residents to the community. The project is also good news for Durham College, which has a nuclear engineer training program, Gray said.

Both communities had been aggressively lobbying to host the projects.

Nuclear Power

Canada has 18 active reactors, with 16 in Ontario. In 2006, those 18 reactors provided 15.5 per cent of the country's electricity. There are five nuclear power plant sites -- three in Ontario, one in Quebec (Gentilly-2 plant outside Trois-Rivieres) and one in New Brunswick (Point Lepreau).

--Government of Ontario

However, Infrastructure Ontario said in a news release issued Monday that "the Ontario government also reaffirmed the importance of the Bruce Power nuclear site to Ontario's overall electricity plan."

CTV Toronto reported that up to four other nuclear units will be either built or refurbished at the Bruce plant. The exact mix has not yet been determined.

Infrastructure Ontario said the Darlington project will lead to the creation of 3,500 direct construction and engineering jobs between 2012 and 2018.

Three companies have emerged as "invited respondents":

  • AREVA NP
  • Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
  • Westinghouse Electric Company

The government said there would be three key areas of evaluation for the company's bids:

  • Lifetime cost of power
  • Ability to meet Ontario's timetable to bring new supply on line in 2018
  • Level of investment in Ontario

"If they don't deliver on their part of the contract, there will be penalties built into it," Phillips said Monday.

A supplier is to be chosen in November.

Ontario's plan is to get 14,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the nuclear sector, with Bruce continuing to supply 6,300 MW.

Ontario can currently meet a peak load of just under 25,000 MW. The province wants to cut peak demand by 2,700 MW by 2010.

The estimated cost of this new nuclear capacity is $26 billion.

When Darlington was built, it became a cost-overrun nightmare. Ontario NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns warned the same might happen again, and consumers will bear the cost.

"I have no idea what the two reactors will cost. I have no idea. The only thing that's clear to me is they estimated $26 billion for the cost of nuclear, and I think it's entirely reasonable to say that the cost will come in double (that)," he told reporters Monday.

John Yakabuski, energy critic for the provincial Progressive Conservatives, said the announcement came four years too late. As a result, Ontario is heading towards power supply troubles, he claimed.

Murray Elston of the Canadian Nuclear Association, an industry lobby group, said changes in construction techniques since the completion of Darlington 15 years ago should help keep costs under control.

All three competitors have recently completed reactors that were on time and on budget, he told CTV Newsnet.

"I think Mr. Tabuns and others will be very disappointed if they expect the cost overruns that they have speculated about," Elston said.

With files from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss, Dana Levenson and The Canadian Press