Bruce Nuclear Generating Station

Bruce Nuclear Generating Station
Bruce B Nuclear Generating Station
Country	Canada
Location	Kincardine, Bruce County, Ontario
Coordinates	44°19′31″N 81°35′58″W / 44.32528°N 81.59944°W / 44.32528; -81.59944
Status	Operational
Construction began	Unit 1: 1 June 1971 Unit 2: 1 December 1970 Unit 3: 1 July 1972 Unit 4: 1 September 1972 Unit 5: 1 June 1978 Unit 6: 1 January 1978 Unit 7: 1 May 1979 Unit 8: 1 August 1979
Commission date	Unit 1: 1 September 1977 Unit 2: 1 September 1977 Unit 3: 1 February 1978 Unit 4: 18 January 1979 Unit 5: 1 March 1985 Unit 6: 14 September 1984 Unit 7: 10 April 1986 Unit 8: 22 May 1987
Construction cost	$1.8 billion CAD (A station) $6 billion CAD (B station)
Owner(s)	Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
Operator(s)	Bruce Power
Nuclear power station
Reactors	8
Reactor type	CANDU PHWR
Reactor supplier	AECL
Cooling source	Lake Huron
Thermal capacity	4 × 2832 MWth[1] (A 1–4) 4 × 2832 MWth[1] (B 5–8)
Power generation
Units operational	1 × 823 MWe (NET A1) 1 × 828 MWe (NET A2) 1 × 816 MWe (NET A3) 1 × 806 MWe (NET A4) 1 × 822 MWe (NET B5) 1 × 817 MWe (NET B6) 1 × 825 MWe (NET B7) 1 × 817 MWe (NET B8)
Make and model	CANDU 791 (A 1–2) CANDU 750A (A 3–4) CANDU 750B (B 5–8)
Units decommissioned	1 × 220 MW (Douglas Point)
Nameplate capacity	6,550MW
Capacity factor	87.4% (2014–2018) 79.46% (lifetime)
Annual net output	48,169 GWh (2018) 1,606,926 GWh (lifetime)
External links
Website	Bruce Power
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. It occupies 932 ha (2300 acres) of land.^[2] The facility derives its name from Bruce Township,^[3] the local municipality when the plant was constructed, now Kincardine due to amalgamation. With eight CANDU pressurized heavy-water reactors, it was the world's largest fully operational nuclear generating station by total reactor count and the number of currently operational reactors until 2016, when it was exceeded in nameplate capacity by South Korea's Kori Nuclear Power Plant. The station is the largest employer in Bruce County, with over 4000 workers.^[4]

Formerly known as the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (BNPD),^[2] the facility was constructed in stages between 1970 and 1987 by the provincial Crown corporation, Ontario Hydro. In April 1999 Ontario Hydro was split into 5 component Crown corporations with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) taking over all electrical generating stations. In June 2000, OPG entered into a long-term lease agreement with private sector consortium Bruce Power to take over operation. In May 2001, Bruce Power began operations. The lease was for 18 years until 2019 with an option to extend another 25 years to 2044.^[5]

In November 2009, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) renewed Bruce Power's operating licences for 5 years until 2014 and gave permission to refuel units 1 and 2.^[6] In May 2014, the CNSC extended the licence to May 2015 and public hearings were scheduled for early 2015 in Ottawa and Kincardine.^[7] A new operating licence was granted for 1 June 2015, until 31 May 2020^[8] and was renewed again from 1 October 2018 until 30 September 2028.^[9]

In 2023, it was announced that the site could potentially open a third nuclear power station. Bruce C was first proposed in the late 2000s, however it was not proceeded with at the time.^[10][11]

In 2023, the Bruce generating station produced more than 45 billion kWh, about 7% of the total Canadian electricity consumption.^{[citation needed]}