Biggest nuclear reactor Olkiluoto 3 in Finland
April 9th 2023 Helsinki, the biggest nuclear reactor in Europe, Finland’s much delayed OL3, started producing regularly. This increased energy security in an electricity supplies
News of OLS’s start-up comes as Germany shuts off its final three reactors on April 8th 2023, while Sweden, France, Britain and other countries plan new projects. Nuclear power is still unpopular in Europe, mostly owing to safety concerns.
According to OL3’s operator Teolisuuden Voima(TVO), the unit is anticipated to supply around 14% of Finland’s power consumption, decreasing the country’s reliance on imports from Sweden and Norway.
Fortum(FORTUM.HE), a Finnish utility, and a group of energy and industrial businesses control the unit.
After completing the transition from testing to regular output, TVO stated in a statement that the new reactor is anticipated to generate for at least 0 years.
TVO Chief Executive Jarmo Tanhua noted in the statement that the production of Olkiluoto 3(OL3) stabilises the price of electricity and plays a significant role in the Finnish green transition.
The 1.6 gigawatt reactor, Finland’s first brand new nuclear plant in more than 40 years and the the first in Europe in 16 years, started construction in 2005. The facility was initially scheduled to operate four years later, however problems with the technology delayed that date.
In March 2022, OL3 began supplying test production to Finland’s national power grid. At the time, it was anticipated that normal output would started four months later. However, OL3 had a number of problems and outrages that required months to rectify.
Last May 2022, when Russian utility Inter RAO claimed it hadn’t been paid for the energy it delivered, Russia’s electricity exports to Finland came to a halt. This was due to the growing divide between Moscow and Europe over the conflict in Ukraine.
Shortly after, natural gas exports to the Nordic country were stopped by the Russian state export monopoly Gazprom. The biggest reactor OL3 in Europe begins normal output after 18 years since it started operation on April 9th 2023.
Source: Reuters
