Bruce Power and nuclear component supplier BWXT are working together on several projects they say will boost economic recovery.
The companies made the announcement Wednesday (Sept 9th) which includes an estimated $55-million contract for BWXT to perform fuel channel maintenance on Bruce Power’s Unit 3 nuclear reactor.
This work on Unit 3 is known as Extended West Shift Plus and is scheduled to be executed in 2021.
A media release from Bruce Power says this will result in the training and hiring of hundreds of skilled-trades workers.
Once complete, it will extend the life of Unit 3 to 2023, when Bruce Power is scheduled to start the unit’s Major Component Replacement (MCR) Project.
Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck says the announcement is exciting for the province’s nuclear industry adding, “Work being done through our Life-Extension Program is creating jobs and providing direct and indirect spending to support getting the economy back on track in the face of the COVID-19 health crisis.”
BWXT, which opened a Saugeen Shores office in 2018, is expanding its footprint in Saugeen Shores and is relocating to a larger facility at 714 Elgin St. in Port Elgin which will allow for training of staff to provide reactor inspection and maintenance services.
BWXT’s Owen Sound manufacturing facility also opened in 2018 and is manufacturing and delivering a supply of critical components to Bruce Power.
The two companies also announced Wednesday, the first ‘Made in Ontario’ steam generator, built by United Steel Workers, for the Unit 6 MCR has been shipped from BWXT’s plant in Cambridge to Bruce Power.
