Bruce Power’s future just got a little brighter.
The operator of the Tiverton nuclear generating station has been given the go-ahead for more refurbishments.
To cheers and applause from a standing room only auditorium filled with Bruce Power workers on Tuesday, Huron Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell brought the good news from Queen’s Park.
As part of Ontario’s updated long-term energy plan, the remaining six units at the Bruce Power site are earmarked for refurbishment.
It means the six other units will likely be refurbished over the next 12 years at an estimated two billion dollars per unit.
The refurbishment plans will bring up to three thousand construction jobs over the 12 year period and assures long-term employment for the four thousand people who run the Tiverton site.
Bruce Power President and CEO Duncan Hawthorne says the announcement allows for some critical strategic planning.
He says besides the Bruce there will be refurbishment at the Darlington Station along with their new build.
Hawthorne says 50 per cent of the province’s energy will come from nuclear and 25 per cent of that will come from Bruce Power alone.
He says their primary focus right now though is the continuing refurbishment of Units 1 and 2 which is about 80 per cent completed.
Recently the project was estimated to cost 4.5 billion dollars — about 2 billion over budget which will come out of the company’s pocket.
Once all 8 units have been refurbished the Bruce Power site will be capable of producing 63 hundred megawatts of power.
