Helsinki: The largest nuclear reactor in Europe, Finland's much-delayed Olkiluoto 3 (OL3), started producing regularly early on Sunday, according to its operator. This increased energy security in a region where Russia has cut off gas and power supplies.
The news of OL3's start-up comes as Sweden, France, Britain, and other countries plan new developments, while nuclear power remains divisive in Europe, primarily due to safety concerns. Germany on Saturday shut down its final three reactors.
The unit is anticipated to meet about 14% of Finland's electricity demand, reducing the need for imports from Sweden and Norway, according to OL3's operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which is owned by Finnish utility Fortum and a group of energy and industrial companies.
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After completing the transition from testing to regular output, TVO said in a statement on Sunday that the new reactor is anticipated to produce for at least 60 years.
TVO Chief Executive Jarmo Tanhua stated in the statement that "the production of Olkiluoto 3 stabilises the price of electricity and plays a significant role in the Finnish green transition."
The 1.6 gigawatt (GW) reactor, Finland's first brand-new nuclear plant in more than 40 years and the first in Europe in 16 years, started construction in 2005. The plant was initially scheduled to open four years later, but problems with the technology delayed that date.
In March of last year, OL3 began supplying test production to Finland's national power grid. At the time, it was anticipated that regular output would start four months later. However, OL3 experienced a string of breakdowns and outages that took months to fix.
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Last May, when Russian utility Inter RAO claimed it hadn't been paid for the energy it sold, Russia's power exports to Finland came to an end. This was due to the growing divide between Moscow and Europe over the conflict in Ukraine.
Shortly after, natural gas shipments to the Nordic country were stopped by the Russian state export monopoly Gazprom.
