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CLARINGTON, ONT. \u2013 The Ontario government has announced a major construction milestone has been reached on the G7\u2019s first Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at Darlington.<\/p>\n
A 2.1-million-pound basemat module for the Unit 1 SMR was lifted and installed at the project site recently.<\/p>\n
This precision lift was executed by one of the world\u2019s largest crawler cranes, an LR\/LE 12500-1.0 crawler crane that has up to 2,500 tons (5.5 million pounds) lifting capacity and more than 200 metres of reach.<\/p>\n
It lowered the material within millimetre precision and represents the first foundation of a new nuclear reactor to be built in Ontario in over 30 years, explains a release.<\/p>\n
Once complete, the Darlington New Nuclear Project\u2019s four SMRs will produce 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power 1.2 million homes.<\/p>\n
Aecon Kiewit Nuclear Partners, a partnership between Aecon and Kiewit Nuclear Canada, was awarded an alliance construction contract by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in 2025 for the execution phase on the new nuclear project.<\/p>\n
Being executed under an Integrated Project Delivery model, the partners will work with OPG, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and AtkinsR\u00e9alis.<\/p>\n
The government previously noted the first unit will cost $6.1 billion, along with costs for systems and services common to all four SMRs of $1.6 billion. Costs are expected to decline with each unit as efficiencies are gained, similar to the Darlington Refurbishment Project, a release notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to this latest milestone, the government is also announcing more than 100 Canadian companies have signed onto the SMR supply chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding on\u00a0the more than 80 northern and rural Ontario companies that have already signed agreements with Ontario Power Generation and its partners to deliver this first-of-its-kind project, sixteen new Ontario-based companies, and six companies from Quebec and Alberta have joined the supply chain to support the SMR builds,\u201d the release adds.<\/p>\n
Recently awarded contracts include:<\/p>\n
OPG\u00a0began site preparation<\/a>\u00a0for the first SMR in December 2022 and obtained a Licence to Construct for Unit 1<\/a>\u00a0from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in April 2025. OPG filed its Licence to Operate application for Unit 1 to the CNSC in March 2026.<\/p>\n Thus far, the province has invested $1 billion through the Building Ontario Fund for the project, and the federal government has invested $2 billion through the Canada Growth Fund.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n