CANDU construction and operating experience in Canada

There have been a dozen or so different reactor systems developed to the prototype stage, and the CANDU reactor in Canada is one of only three or four types that have been firmly established as a competitive source of electric energy. The success of Canada with CANDU resulted from the efforts of all concerned over the past 30 years. The most powerful stimulus to the development of CANDU was the virtual exhaustion of economic hydroelectric resources in Ontario, and the recognition that the increasing dependence on foreign fossil energy sources is undesirable. Beginning with a small demonstration plant of 20 MW, then a prototype CANDU station of 200 MW, Ontario Hydro, with AECL, developed an engineering capability and produced the first commercial, multi-unit CANDU design for Pickering NGS. Hydrofurther developed and refined its project management techniques to meet the challenge presented by the nuclear power mega-projects. Quebec and New Brunswick have also entered the nuclear power field by choosing a single unit 600 MW CANDU station, instead of the multi-unit approach. The operating experience of CANDU is entirely in Ontario, and the record has shown the solid success. CANDU is a highly salable product in the international market. (Kako, I.)