Point Lepreau Refurbishment

The Point Lepreau Generating Station is an integral part of the region’s energy mix, supplying 680MW of energy for the Province of New Brunswick. Point Lepreau was the first of AECL’s CANDU-6 reactors to begin operation in 1983, and it is now the first CANDU-6 reactor to undergo a refurbishment. Although the station has been performing well for the past 25 years it has reached a point where key components must be replaced and upgraded. The $1.4 billion refurbishment will include replacing pressure tubes and feeder pipes, rewinding the rotor, and design modifications which will prolong the life of the station by up to 30 years and assure the region on-going expertise in the re-emerging energy sector. The refurbishment will create over 1500 construction jobs at its peak during the plant’s shutdown, which began on March 28, 2008 and is expected to last until September 2009. Supply chain benefits are already visible, highlighted by recent contract announcements of $10 million for Sunny Corner Mechanical and $40 million for Lorneville Mechanical Contractors.

For more information on the Point Lepreau Refurbishment project, please visit http://poweringthefuture.nbpower.com