Olkiluoto NPP

History

2023: Shutdown of the third power unit due to a malfunction in the turbine plant

On November 20, 2023, at about 20:30, the third power unit of the Olkiluoto NPP was again suspended due to a malfunction in the turbine installation.

2022: Unit 3 shutdown due to turbine incident

The third power unit was connected to the national network in March 2022, and already in May it was disconnected until August due to the incident with the turbine. On August 28, all problems were resolved, and block 29 turned off again.

2021: Launch of the 3rd power unit with a delay of 12 years and exceeding the budget by 5 times

On December 21, 2021, the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor in Finland was launched very late in its delivery dates, operator TVO said, marking the first commissioning of a nuclear plant in Europe since 2007.

The Generation 3 + Water-Powered Nuclear Reactor (EPR), built by the French consortium ArevaSiemens - on the southwest coast of Finland, was launched twelve years later than the originally planned completion date in 2009, and the original estimate was exceeded by at least five times. EPR is an evolutionary development that is based on the technical solutions of the VVER-1200 nuclear reactor NPP project. At the same time, the power of the unit was increased from 1200 to 1255 MW. Power units with VVER-TOI have improved technical and economic indicators. Compared to the previous generation power units, the VVER-1000 capacity of each increased by 25% - up to 1255 MW, and the service life of the main equipment increased by 2 times. TVO called the launch historic, since it is the first commissioning of a nuclear reactor in Finland since 1981 and the first in Europe since the commissioning of the second power unit of the Romanian Chernavod nuclear power plant in 2007.

New nuclear power plant launched in Finland for the first time in 40 years

The nuclear power plant (NPP) will be connected to Finland's national grid in January 2022, with regular energy production expected in June 2022. With a capacity of 1.6 thousand megawatts, the nuclear power plant will become the most powerful reactor in Europe, providing 14% of Finland's energy.

The launch of the reactor reflects the high professionalism in the field of nuclear power and the desire to make Finland's greatest act in climate protection a reality. Although the construction of EPR in Finland, France and the UK was fraught with delays and cost overruns, the project was nevertheless completed, "said Marjo Mustonen, senior vice president of TVO.

Developed in France, the EPR reactor model was created to resume nuclear power after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and it was called more powerful and safer. In December 2021, the start of electricity production at the Hinckley Point nuclear power plant in the south-west of England is scheduled for mid-2026, which is ten years later than planned.^[1]

2005: France's Orano begins construction of 3rd power unit

The tender for the construction of the third power unit in the 2000s was won by the French company Areva - later known as Orano. It was renamed when Areva was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The construction of the new Areva power unit began in 2005, the launch was expected in 2009, but took place only in December 2021. Delays, delays began immediately:

• construction delay in 2006 for about a year due to problems with construction quality control: subcontractors had no experience in the construction of nuclear power plants;

• the delay in 2007 of construction by the Radiation Safety Center of Finland, which discovered safety-related design "flaws" and required strengthening the reactor building, followed by construction costs exceeding the budget by more than 25%;

• 3.5 years behind schedule by May 2009 when the budget was exceeded by 50% (here between Areva and the customer there were lawsuits about liability for overspending,

actually, and put the company on the verge of bankruptcy).

In autumn 2009, according to reports, 90% of purchases were made, 80% of engineering and 73% of construction work were carried out, but already in the summer of 2010 Areva announced 400 million euros of additional costs. Further, the schedules for the completion of construction work and commissioning were all revised and revised until 2021.

1978: U.S. Westinghouse Electric builds two power units

Westinghouse Electric built two Olkiluoto power units in the late 1970s.

Notes