Nuclear

OPG to assist in European SMR deployment

ORLEN Synthos Green Energy plans to deploy a fleet of BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland, with the first unit ready before the end of this decade.
OPG to assist in European SMR deployment
(OSGE plans to deploy a fleet of BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland. Photo courtesy GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.)

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will work with Poland’s ORLEN Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) in the quest to deploy and operate small modular reactors (SMRs) in Europe.

The letter of intent signed by the companies June 2 builds on the companies’ existing relationship.

OPG and OSGE, along with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), signed a technical collaboration agreement in March aimed at speeding up the regulatory process and deployment of GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300 SMR. That collaboration agreement would ensure the standard design is deployable in the U.S., Canada, Poland and beyond.

WATCH: GE Hitachi executive Sean Sexstone recently spoke exclusively with Power Engineering about the path to commercialization for the BWRX-300.

The agreement just signed by OPG and OSGE is aimed at future opportunities, under which OPG and its subsidiary, Laurentis Energy Partners, could provide SMR operator services to OSGE as they deploy SMRs in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. The partnership would include a number of SMR-related activities, including development and deployment, operations and maintenance, operator training, commissioning and regulatory support.

OSGE plans to deploy a fleet of BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland, with the first unit ready before the end of this decade. OSGE has applied to the Polish Government for a Decision in Principle on six potential sites and is now working through the regulatory process.

Site preparation for the first BWRX-300 is now underway at OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear Project Site, with construction to be completed in 2028. This could become the first grid-scale SMR to be built in North America.

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