Finland: Franco-German EPR nuclear reactor enters service 13 years late

View of Finland's Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant, which was still unfinished in August 2017. The start-up took place on Sunday, April 16, 2023. REUTERS - STAFF

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As Germany closes its last nuclear power plants this weekend, Finland is commissioning Europe's most powerful nuclear reactor. The Olkiluoto 3 EPR, of Franco-German design, will produce 14% of the country's electricity alone. The end of a project that was 13 years late, which was marked by many technical problems. and additional costs.

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With our correspondent in the region, Calotta Morteo

It represents the ultimate in nuclear technology. Olkiluoto 3, a reactor presented as very powerful and much safer, was above all a real technical headache and cost four times more than expected: in twenty years, the bill has increased from 3.5 billion euros to about 11 billion euros. This is one of the main causes of Areva's industrial dismantling.

A fiasco and a soap opera in Finland until the time of the final tests, in September 2022. The discovery of several cracks in the turbine island forced the operator TVO to shut down the 1,600-megawatt reactor, which was running at full capacity for the first time.

To avoid power cuts during the winter, since Russian deliveries have been at a standstill since Finland's application to NATO Canada, Helsinki was forced to operate oil-fired reserve power plants and buy electricity from Sweden.

► Read also: In Europe, the nuclear camp has the wind in its sails

Thanks to this new EPR (European pressurized reactor), which joins two other reactors, the Olkiluoto site on the Gulf of Bothnia will produce more than a third of the national electricity production. That is to say if it is vital. Its start-up is a relief for the Finns, who are – despite all the hazards of this project – very favorable to nuclear power (between 60 and 70% according to polls).

► Read also: For the EPR of Flamanville, EDF announces another six months of delay and 500 million euros of additional cost

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• Finland
• Nuclear
• Energies