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Energy Minister Stephen Lecce revealed the long-awaited dollar figure Thursday as construction on the first reactor began following years of preparations, approvals and site preparation.

He touted the project as a “nation-building” effort that will create 18,000 jobs with a majority of supplies, including steel and concrete, from more than 80 companies based in Ontario, including Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this week before a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump amid a trade war, Premier Doug Ford mentioned expanded nuclear power generation as part of a strategy to achieve “Canadian energy security, reduce (carbon) emissions and create new export opportunities with new jobs.”

But for all the talk of Canadian content, Green Leader Mike Schreiner said choosing a boiling water reactor from North Carolina-based GE Hitachi is curious at this time. 

“I don’t understand, given Trump’s tariff threats, why we’re doing SMRs using U.S. technology.”

Officials said the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator estimated an equivalent amount of power generated by wind and solar with battery storage would cost between 13.5 and 18.4 cents per kilowatt hour, and would require new transmission lines, versus 14.9 cents at Darlington, which has significant transmission infrastructure in place. 

The first reactor is slated to begin supplying electricity to the grid in 2030 with the others coming online by 2035, resulting in 3,700 permanent jobs per year and filling what is expected to be a power gap early next decade. The reactors have a projected lifespan of 65 years. 

Ontario and its Crown corporation Ontario Power Generation are working with power companies in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta as they develop SMRs for their jurisdictions. 

The province is also working toward building a major new nuclear generating station east of Darlington at Port Hope.

The theory behind SMRs is they are easier, faster and less costly to build than major nuclear stations, and can be built in more remote locations if necessary.