AtkinsRéalis wins engineering contract for expansion of Darlington substation
AtkinsRéalis, a Montreal-based design and engineering consultancy, has been selected by Hydro One as owner’s engineer for the expansion of the Bowmanville Switching Station.
The expansion of the substation, located across from Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, will enable the grid connection of four planned small modular reactors at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site.
The new nuclear site aims to meet the Greater Toronto Area’s increasing demand for power, driven by population growth and new electrified rail infrastructure. The Go Transit electrification and new Ontario Line alone will add 100 megawatts of energy to demand to Toronto’s grid.
“Delivering nation-building energy projects in Canada and around the world has been a hallmark of our work in the Power & Renewables sector for decades,” said Ian Edwards, president and CEO of AtkinsRéalis. “AtkinsRéalis is perfectly suited to deliver work on this substation, which is a critical link in supplying electricity from the Darlington New Nuclear Project to the people of southern Ontario, including Toronto.”
AtkinsRéalis will deliver engineering, project, and program management services to Hydro One on the substation expansion. The engineering work will help establish a 500kV switchyard next to the existing substation, doubling capacity and expanding the site by 30 to 40 acres.
The switchyard project also includes installation of new breakers, disconnect switches, and supporting equipment. The site will also have a new multi-purpose building to house control, protection, telecommunication, and auxiliary equipment.
“Building on our extensive national portfolio of transmission and distribution work, this mandate exemplifies how we win and deliver work with our differentiated end-to-end capabilities, while strengthening our relationship with Hydro One,” said Stéphanie Vaillancourt, president, Canada, AtkinsRéalis.
The firm, which has approximately 8,000 people in Canada, is also currently working on several other power projects in the country, including serving as owner’s engineer on the Champlain Hudson Power Express project (a 545-kilometer buried cable transmission line carrying electricity from Quebec to New York City) and providing project management for the refurbishment of Rio Tinto’s Isle-Maligne hydro plant in Alma, QC.
