Posted Sep 30, 2022 11:48 AM
It will have taken 12 years longer than expected, but the Finnish EPR type reactor, Olkiluoto-3 (OL3), is finally running at full speed. It has indeed begun to produce electricity at full power, the operator TVO and the French group responsible for its construction, Areva, announced on Friday.
“The power plant is now the most powerful power generation facility in Europe,” welcomed the Finnish operator of the plant. With a power level of around 1,600 megawatts, the plant on the southwest coast of the Nordic country has also become the third most powerful power generation facility in the world, TVO added. Just behind the two Chinese EPRs, also of French design.
40% of the country’s electricity production
TVO indicated earlier this month that full power should be reached “early October”. The new OL3 reactor is being closely watched in Finland, where it is hoped that it can meet the energy challenges of the coming winter in the face of the risks of shortages aggravated by the drop in Russian gas deliveries to Europe and electricity to Finland.
At full power, the EPR will enable the Olkiluoto plant to supply 40% of Finland’s electricity production. The two other reactors, OL1 and OL2 together account for 21% of this production, and OL3 for 19% alone. In addition, the PER will be “an important addition to the production of clean electricity (nuclear electricity being low in carbon, editor’s note) in Finland, the share of which will increase to more than 90%”, explained Marjo Mustonen, vice- president of TVO in charge of electricity production, when it started up.
12 years late
The new reactor, built by the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens, started up in March, 12 years late. Like the French EPR site in Flamanville, it has experienced a long series of failures and setbacks. These are at the origin, in part, of the heavy restructuring of Areva in 2018, subsequently divided into three separate companies (Orano, Framatome and Areva SA).
The most recent postponement took place last June. Regular production was supposed to start this summer, but it was postponed to December. In question: the observation of “foreign matter” in the steam stove of the turbine. In 12 years, the bill for the Finnish EPR site has gone from 3.4 billion euros to around 11 billion.
New tests
The reactor operator, TVO, also recalled that a series of ten tests must still be carried out in the coming months. These trials will impact power levels in the coming months. “In some of the upcoming tests, the production of the production unit is deliberately interrupted or the power level is lowered”, specified the operator.
“Teams from Areva, Siemens and TVO remain fully mobilized to complete the long test phase at 100% power,” said the French manufacturer. The Finnish operator is now talking about electricity production at a normal rate, in Olkiluoto, in December 2022.
