Pickering A — Canada

Pickering A is a 1,084 MW nuclear power station in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Ontario Power Generation Inc [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.4 million homes (estimated). It ranks #35 of 1,210 Canada power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1971, it is around 55 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 13.1% of Canada's electricity; the national grid averages 191 gCO₂/kWh (77.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CAN0002073.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 3,244 MW for Pickering nuclear power plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500185; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,084 MW, Pickering A is well above the median nuclear plant in Canada (941 MW). Technically it is described as pressurized heavy water reactor. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Canada nuclear capacity

5.3% of 20,406 MW across 15 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 9 dated nuclear plants in Canada is older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest nuclear plants in Canada

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Ontario Power Generation Inc [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 47% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 78/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #7 largest nuclear power plant of 15 in Canada by capacity.

Canada has 15 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 20,406 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Pickering B · Nuclear · 2,160 MW · Ontario
• OPG 7 Gomberg · Wind · 1.8 MW · Ontario
• Index Energy Mills Road Corp · Biomass · 17.8 MW · Ontario
• Beare Road LFG · Biomass · 5 MW · Ontario
• Whitby · Gas · 50 MW · Ontario
• Portlands · Gas · 624 MW · Ontario

Location

Coordinates 43.8107, -79.0689 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions