Ontario Power Generation is on track to build the first commercial small modular nuclear reactor in North America, marking a watershed moment for the advanced nuclear industry.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission granted the utility a license on Friday to begin construction immediately on a single reactor at its Darlington New Nuclear Project site in Bowmanville, Ontario. The Ontario government still needs to green-light the project before construction can begin.
OPG will build GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300, a small modular version of a boiling water reactor. It plans to eventually build four of the reactors at the Darlington site.
The license “is a significant milestone for the project and nuclear industry,” GE Hitachi said in a statement. “We now await the go-ahead from the Ontario government to proceed.”
