Impact assessment process begins for Canadian new-build

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) are inviting public comments on the initial description of the project which has now been published on the agency's website, along with a summary in English and French. The deadline for comments is 11 February.

The Ontario government formally asked Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to explore opportunities for new nuclear energy generation at Wesleyville in January last year, after the local municipality and Indigenous communities expressed their support. The OPG-owned site has been municipally zoned and maintained for electricity generation for more than 50 years. OPG has identified the potential to construct and operate nuclear generating stations on both the eastern and western portions of the site.

The New Nuclear at Wesleyville Project would provide up to 10,000 megawatts of new nuclear generating capacity - enough to power the equivalent of 10 million homes, according to OPG - and operate for 78 years. No reactor technology has yet been selected, but OPG has considered several technologies as part of so-called Plant Parameter Envelope approach which will be used for site licensing. These include pressurised water reactor technology (Westinghouse’s AP1000 and EDF’s EPR); pressurised heavy water reactor (CANDU) technology (Atkins Realis’ CANDU MONARK); and boiling water reactor technology (GE-Hitachi’s BWRX-300).

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada-led Impact Assessment process will include an assessment of potential impacts and explore how adverse effects could be mitigated during site preparation, construction, operation, and decommissioning of the plant. The current timeline for the project outlined in the Initial Project Description envisages site preparation beginning in 2030 with construction starting in 2033 and the first unit coming online in 2040.

OPG acknowledges that Port Hope and the New Nuclear at Wesleyville site are within the shared traditional and treaty territory of the Chippewa and Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations (WTFNs), and said it worked closely with them to ensure their collaborative input to the document. "The Initial Project Description (IPD) includes perspectives from MS-WTFN community members including Elders and those who have traditional knowledge of the area. The IPD also incorporates early input from the Municipality of Port Hope, where the proposed project is located, and perspectives gathered through OPG’s early engagement efforts in the community," the company said.