Refurbishment
Retubing of Bruce A units was planned in 1992, although this was deferred, as Ontario Hydro had a surplus of generation at the time.
In late 2005, Bruce Power and the Government of Ontario committed to return units 1 and 2 to service, in order to help meet increasing energy demand in the province of Ontario. The project was originally estimated to cost $4.25 billion. It was determined that while Units 1&2 could have been restarted without refurbishment, it was believed to be economical advantageous to do so, since refurbishment would have been required shortly thereafter. The goal is to keep units 1&2 in service until 2043, 66 years after original commissioning.
The refurbishment required:
- Pressure tube and calandria tube replacement
- Steam generator replacement
- Shutdown System 2 (SDS2) enhancement
- Significant other work and maintenance (for example, 30 transformers containing PCBs will be replaced).
A new fuel bundle design (Low Void Reactivity Fuel, LVRF) is being considered, which uses slightly enriched (1% U-235) fuel pellets, within a CANFLEX 43-element bundle (compared to the existing 37-element bundle).
In 2006 and 2007, the restart project was judged to be the largest infrastructure project in Canada by ReNew Canada magazine. Estimated cost for the project later grew to $5.25 billion when Bruce Power decided to replace all 480 fuel channels in Unit 4, which will extend its working life to 2036, in line with the other 3 units of Bruce A. In 2008, due to difficulties developing the necessary robotics, the estimated cost of restarting Units 1 and 2 was raised between $400 and $700 million. The project, however, remained on schedule.
The auditor general reviewed the refurbishment deal in 2007
In January 2010, up to 217 workers were potentially exposed to radiation during the refurbishment. 27 workers may have received 5 mSv. Only one lab in Canada (at Chalk River ) was qualified to do the testing. Bruce Power had to seek permission to use alternative labs.
In 2010, a plan to ship decommissioned, low-level radioactive steam generators to Sweden via the Great Lakes caused controversy. The CNSC approved the plan in February 2011.
In 2011, it was reported that Unit1 and 2 refurbishment, originally scheduled for 2009, is now predicted to be in commercial operation in 2012. Cost is $3.8 billion so far; the final cost is expected to be $4.8 billion. The original 2005 estimate was $2.75 billion.
As of January 2011, fuel channel installation in Unit 2 was complete. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission gave the operator the green light to restart Unit 2 on 16 March 2012. However, the reactor was shut down the next day after a leak was discovered in the moderator system.
In September 2012, Unit 1 began generating power again.
On 16 October 2012, Unit 2 was connected to the provincial electricity grid for the first time in 17 years.
Read more about this topic: Bruce Nuclear Generating Station