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Repurposing Pickering

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After an extensive refurbishment in 2010, the costs of maintaining the Pickering Nuclear Plant proved too costly beyond 2020. 

As Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is looking for solutions to make up for the lost generating capacity and what to do with the existing land, 4 SKIES believes that a Tri-Gen-Zero™ system perfectly fits these needs.

Energy needs can be met with a combined cycle tri-generation natural gas power plant capable of producing 2,000 MW of power. In addition to generating power, waste heat and CO2 from the plant will be used to enhance plant growth in a year-round greenhouse operation designed to produce as much as 100,000 tons annually of fresh, organic produce for sale to local markets. In addition to generating power, waste heat and CO2 from the plant will be used to enhance plant growth in a year-round greenhouse operation designed to produce as much as 100,000 tons annually of fresh, organic produce for sale to local markets.

The estimated cost of the repurposing project concept is $2.5 billion. However, a comprehensive feasibility study will need to be undertaken to determine a more accurate cost for the trigeneration facility. The main structure of a newly repurposed tri-generation facility will be designed and built using proven, “best-in-class” technology, including natural gas boilers, gas turbines, and waste heat recovery systems with generators, electrical and mechanical systems that are designed to work with the existing infrastructure.

Project Location:
Pickering, Ontario
Type of Project:
Repurposing: Nuclear to NG
Project Cost:
TBD
Fuel Type:
Natural Gas
Type of Technology:
Combined Cycle Tri-generation
Plant Capacity (electric):
2000 MW (net)
Power Plant Efficiency:
61 percent
Electricity to Grid:
16,800,000,000 kWh/year
Potable Water Potential:
120,000 m3/day
Greenhouse Produce Potential:
100,000 tons/year
PPA Term:
25 years (recommended)
Estimated Time for Completion:
24 – 30 months
Project Life:
Up to 50 years

trigen-graphic-ng.jpg

Another key feature of the 4 SKIES concept allows for the systematic dismantling of the nuclear reactors while taking advantage of some of the plant’s remaining infrastructure, including: substation; transmission lines; roads, port facilities, storage and land now comprising the mile-wide buffer zone. Once repurposed, the entire facility will continue to supply 2,000 MW of electricity to the grid, while producing 100,000 tons annually of quality, organic produce for sale to local markets. 

In a combined cycle tri-generation plant, waste heat is recovered from:

(1) The Primary Gas Turbine Exhaust to produce steam to power

(2) A Standard Ranking Cycle Steam Turbine and Generator.

Some of the remaining heat from the steam turbine is diverted to supply heat to:

(3) Distill Water and Heat Greenhouses required to grow produce and also to heat an anaerobic digester to process organic waste from the greenhouses into biogas and bio-fertilizer.

In fact, this solution will also divert most, if not all, of the plant’s CO2 emissions to help perpetuate plant growth in the greenhouses, provided that state of the art CO2 scrubbers offered by Siemens are utilized in the gas plant to first clean as much as 90% of the CO2 before diversion to the greenhouses. This would effectively make the project one of the cleanest trigeneration plants in the world.