Finland begins power production at Europe’s largest nuclear reactor
Nuclear power facility/Photo Unsplash.com
On Sunday, Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor, Europe’s largest reactor, will begin regular power production. The measure thus contributes to increasing energy security in a region where Russia has cut off all sources of gas and electricity. Nuclear power remains a controversial topic in Europe, mainly due to safety concerns. The launch of OL3 comes at a time when Germany is shutting down its last three remaining reactors, while Sweden, France, Britain, and other players are planning new developments. Teollisuuden Voima, the operator of OL3, owned by the Finnish company Fortum and a consortium of energy companies and industrial companies, announced that the unit will meet about 14% of Finland’s electricity demand, thereby reducing the need to import electricity from Sweden and Norway.
Teollisuuden Voima, the operator of OL3, owned by the Finnish company Fortum and a consortium of energy and industrial companies, announced that the unit will meet about 14% of Finland’s electricity demand, reducing the need to import electricity from Sweden and Norway. Construction of the 1.6 GW reactor, the first new nuclear reactor built in Finland in four decades and the first in Europe in 16 years, began in 2005. The plant was originally supposed to open in 2009, but ran into technical problems. It first supplied electricity for testing to Finland’s national grid in March last year and was due to start regular production four months later, but ran into a series of breakdowns that delayed the deadline by a year. As a result of the launch, analysts said Finland, the only Nordic country with a large energy deficit, could expect lower electricity costs. Russia stopped power exports to Finland last May after the company Russian utility Inter RAO said it had not been paid for the power it supplied, amid tensions between Moscow and Europe over the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s state-owned export monopoly, Gazprom, has also halted natural gas shipments to the northern nation, according to Reuters. At the same time, Germany announced on Saturday that it would shut down its last three nuclear power plants by the end of the day, ending a six-decade program that had spawned one of the strongest protest movements in Europe.
By Paul Bumman
