The costly power reactor is expected to reduce the Nordic country’s dependence on electricity imports
The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, located in western Finland, has finally been connected to the national grid and started electricity production, according to the Finnish operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO).
The 1.6 gigawatt reactor, whose launch was originally planned for 2009, is expected to increase the country’s electricity independence and help achieve carbon dioxide neutrality targets.
“OL3 significantly improves Finland’s self-sufficiency in electricity and helps achieve carbon dioxide neutrality targets,” the operator said in a statement on Saturday.
Olkiluoto 3 is eroded by technical problems that became the subject of lawsuits and is Finland’s first new nuclear power plant in more than four decades and the first to be launched in Europe in almost 15 years.
The reactor’s final price tag was set at around 11 billion euros ($ 12 billion), almost three times more than originally estimated, the Finnish public service company YLE reported last year.
The reactor started test production at just over 0.1 gigawatts and is expected to increase to peak capacity at the end of July. After reaching full capacity, it will reportedly satisfy 14% of Finland’s electricity needs. Olkiluoto 3 is expected to reduce the need for imports from Russia, Sweden and Norway.
Finland now operates five nuclear reactors at two power plants on the shores of the Baltic Sea. In total, they can cover over 40% of the country’s electricity needs.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk