HELSINKI: The much-delayed Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor in Finland, Europe’s largest, resumed regular operation early on Sunday, according to its operator, boosting energy security in a region where Russia has curtailed gas and power supplies.
Nuclear power is still controversial in Europe, mostly due to safety concerns, and the announcement of OL3’s restart comes as Germany switches off its last three remaining reactors on Saturday. At the same time, Sweden, France, the United Kingdom, and others are planning additional advancements.
Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which is controlled by Finnish utility Fortum and a consortium of energy and industrial firms, has stated that the unit will meet around 14% of Finland’s electricity consumption, eliminating the need for imports from Sweden and Norway. After completing the transition from testing to regular output, TVO stated in a statement on Sunday that the new reactor is expected to produce for at least 60 years.
According to TVO Chief Executive Jarmo Tanhua, the output of Olkiluoto 3 stabilises power prices and plays an essential part in Finland’s green transition. The 1.6 gigatonne (GW) reactor, Finland’s first new nuclear plant in over four decades and Europe’s first in 16 years, began construction in 2005. The plant was supposed to open four years later. However, it was delayed due to technical difficulties.
OL3 began supplying test output to Finland’s national power grid in March of last year, with regular output planned four months later, but instead experienced a series of faults and outages that took months to rectify.
Russia’s electricity shipments to Finland ended in May after Russian utility Inter RAO announced that it had not been paid for the energy delivered due to the widening gap between Moscow and Europe over the Ukraine war. Gazprom, Russia’s national export monopoly, immediately halted natural gas shipments to the Nordic country.
