CANDU 500B
The CANDU 500B is a Generation II pressurised heavy water reactor from AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy). 4 units are operating and 0 are under construction, out of 4 on record.
Pickering B, four 540 MWe units on the Toronto lakeshore. The Pickering A units next to them were the first commercial-scale CANDUs anywhere; the B units repeated the design with containment and shutdown-system changes made after a 1983 pressure tube rupture at Pickering A unit 2, which is the event that established pressure-tube ageing as the life-limiting problem for the whole reactor family.
| Vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy) |
|---|---|
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
| Generation | II |
| Capacity range | 520–560 MWe gross |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
| Canada | 4 units, 4 operating |
|---|
How long it took to build
Years from construction start to grid connection, for units with both dates on record. The median across 4 finished units is 8.4 years.
| Unit | Country | Started | Connected | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering nuclear power plant B5 | Canada | 1974 | 1982 | 8.1 |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B6 | Canada | 1975 | 1983 | 8.1 |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B7 | Canada | 1976 | 1984 | 8.7 |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B8 | Canada | 1976 | 1986 | 9.4 |
All CANDU 500B units
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickering nuclear power plant B5 | Canada | 540 | 1983 | |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B6 | Canada | 540 | 1984 | |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B7 | Canada | 540 | 1985 | |
| Pickering nuclear power plant B8 | Canada | 540 | 1986 |
Sources
- CANDU 500B, vendor documentation
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data