Pickering nuclear power plant
Pickering nuclear power plant is a nuclear power station in Canada with 4 operating units totalling 2,160 MW gross. The site has 8 units on record in total.
Units
| Unit | Status | Type | Model | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit B5 | PHWR | CANDU 500B | 540 | 1983 | |
| Unit B6 | PHWR | CANDU 500B | 540 | 1984 | |
| Unit B7 | PHWR | CANDU 500B | 540 | 1985 | |
| Unit B8 | PHWR | CANDU 500B | 540 | 1986 | |
| Unit A1 | Retired | PHWR | CANDU 500A | 542 | 1971 |
| Unit A2 | Retired | PHWR | CANDU 500A | 542 | 1971 |
| Unit A3 | Retired | PHWR | CANDU 500A | 542 | 1972 |
| Unit A4 | Retired | PHWR | CANDU 500A | 542 | 1973 |
Unit by unit
Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.
Pickering nuclear power plant B5
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500B |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 540MW |
| Net capacity | 516MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Nov 1974 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 23 Oct 1982 |
| Grid connection | 19 Dec 1982 |
| Commercial operation | 10 May 1983 |
Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Pickering nuclear power plant B5
Pickering nuclear power plant B6
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500B |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 540MW |
| Net capacity | 516MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Oct 1975 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 15 Oct 1983 |
| Grid connection | 8 Nov 1983 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Feb 1984 |
Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Pickering nuclear power plant B6
Pickering nuclear power plant B7
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500B |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 540MW |
| Net capacity | 516MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Mar 1976 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 22 Oct 1984 |
| Grid connection | 17 Nov 1984 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jan 1985 |
Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Pickering nuclear power plant B7
Pickering nuclear power plant B8
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500B |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 540MW |
| Net capacity | 516MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Sep 1976 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 17 Dec 1985 |
| Grid connection | 21 Jan 1986 |
| Commercial operation | 28 Feb 1986 |
Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Pickering nuclear power plant B8
Pickering nuclear power plant A1 Retired
Permanently shut down on 1 October 2024 ahead of the Pickering B refurbishment programme, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
status:
operating → retired
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-1
· verified 2026-09-06
Permanently shut down on 1 October 2024 ahead of the Pickering B refurbishment programme, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
permanent_shutdown:
not set → 2024-10-01
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-1
· verified 2026-09-06
Permanently shut down on 1 October 2024 ahead of the Pickering B refurbishment programme, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
retirement_year:
not set → 2024
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-1
· verified 2026-09-06
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500A |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 542MW |
| Net capacity | 515MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Jun 1966 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 25 Feb 1971 |
| Grid connection | 4 Apr 1971 |
| Commercial operation | 29 Jul 1971 |
| Permanent shutdown | 1 Oct 2024 |
Pickering nuclear power plant A2 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500A |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 542MW |
| Net capacity | 515MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Sep 1966 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 15 Sep 1971 |
| Grid connection | 6 Oct 1971 |
| Commercial operation | 30 Dec 1971 |
| Permanent shutdown | 28 May 2007 |
Pickering nuclear power plant A3 Retired
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500A |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 542MW |
| Net capacity | 515MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 Dec 1967 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 24 Apr 1972 |
| Grid connection | 3 May 1972 |
| Commercial operation | 1 Jun 1972 |
| Permanent shutdown | 31 Oct 2008 |
Pickering nuclear power plant A4 Retired
Permanently shut down on 31 December 2024, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
status:
operating → retired
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-4
· verified 2026-09-06
Permanently shut down on 31 December 2024, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
permanent_shutdown:
not set → 2024-12-31
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-4
· verified 2026-09-06
Permanently shut down on 31 December 2024, after the GNPT record was last researched in May 2024.
retirement_year:
not set → 2024
· IAEA Power Reactor Information System, reactor record PICKERING-4
· verified 2026-09-06
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU 500A |
| Size class | Large |
| Gross capacity | 542MW |
| Net capacity | 515MW |
| Thermal output | 1,744MWt |
| Enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235no enrichment required |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
| Owner | Ontario Power Generation Inc100% |
| Operator | Ontario Power Generation |
| Construction start | 1 May 1968 |
|---|---|
| First criticality | 16 May 1973 |
| Grid connection | 21 May 1973 |
| Commercial operation | 17 Jun 1973 |
| Permanent shutdown | 31 Dec 2024 |
Pickering nuclear power plant in context
By gross operating capacity Pickering nuclear power plant is the 3rd largest of 4 operating nuclear sites in Canada, holding 16% of the country's operating capacity, and ranks 79th of 172 worldwide.
Its operating units started up between 1983 and 1986; the median unit is 41.5 years old, older than the median of 41.0 in Canada.
The 8 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 4.4 to 9.4 years (median 6.6) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1980s is 7.3 years.
The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Darlington nuclear power plant (28 km), Darlington New nuclear power plant (30 km) and Robert Emmett Ginna nuclear power plant (154 km).
Build time by unit
| Unit | Construction start | Grid connection | Years | Fleet median, same decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit A1 | 1966 | 1971 | 4.8 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit A2 | 1966 | 1971 | 5.1 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit A3 | 1967 | 1972 | 4.4 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit A4 | 1968 | 1973 | 5.1 | 5.4 (1970s) |
| Unit B5 | 1974 | 1982 | 8.1 | 7.3 (1980s) |
| Unit B6 | 1975 | 1983 | 8.1 | 7.3 (1980s) |
| Unit B7 | 1976 | 1984 | 8.7 | 7.3 (1980s) |
| Unit B8 | 1976 | 1986 | 9.4 | 7.3 (1980s) |
Nearest tracked nuclear sites
| Site | Country | Distance | Operating GW gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darlington nuclear power plant | Canada | 28 km | 3.7 |
| Darlington New nuclear power plant | Canada | 30 km | - |
| Robert Emmett Ginna nuclear power plant | United States | 154 km | 0.6 |
How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.
Earthquakes nearby
Loading the latest USGS check…
| Time (UTC) | Mag | Depth | Epicentre | Distance |
|---|
Magnitude 4.0 and above within 200 km of Pickering nuclear power plant's listed coordinates, past 30 days. This is distance, not shaking: it says nothing about damage or any change in operation. Every plant.
| Location | Pickering, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43.8107, -79.0689 |
| Elevation | about 95 mabove sea level |
| Setting | On the shore of a large lake, 1.9 km from the water |
| Region | Northern America |
| Units by status | Operating: 4 Retired: 4 |
Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.
| Owners | Ontario Power Generation Inc |
|---|---|
| Operators | Ontario Power Generation |
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data