Europe’s largest nuclear reactor is OL3. Its proprietor, Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), estimated that the unit would be able to supply approximately 14% of Finland’s electricity demand, with Olkiluoto station’s three reactors providing the remaining 30%.
TVO’s senior vice president for electricity production, Marjo Mustonen, remarked, “This is a historic day, as the benefits we pledged OL3 would bring to Finnish society have been realized. I am pleased of all the nuclear professionals who contributed to this endeavor.”
TVO added that the OL3 initiative employed up to 4,500 individuals from over 80 nations. The nuclear test production phase included 3,300 tests and the compilation of over 9,000 test reports. The initiative had a substantial effect on the regional economy, especially in the Satakunta region.
The 1,600 MW unit was the first instance of Framatome’s European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), a pressurized water design of the third generation. A consortium composed of the French engineer Areva and the German company Siemens was responsible for construction.
The work began in August 2005 and was originally scheduled to be finished in 2009.
The undertaking experienced repeated delays. The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland listed the causes in 2010 as:
- A schedule that was excessively ambitious, given that the reactor was the first of its kind;
- Inadequate design and engineering work completion prior to construction commencement;
- A scarcity of skilled designers;
- Inexperience of the parties involved in managing a large construction undertaking;
- Lack of competent equipment manufacturers worldwide.
In March of last year, OL3 began supplying electricity to Finland’s grid for the first time. At the time, the plant was anticipated to begin regular output four months later, but instead, it experienced a series of breakdowns and outages.
In May, foreign material detached from the turbine’s steam guide plates made its way into the turbine’s steam reheater.
There are currently five nuclear reactors in Finland, three in Olkiluoto and two in Loviisa.