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Regular production of electricity at the construction of the third unit of the Finnish NPP Olkiluoto will begin, as expected, in May 2019. Let’s recall that this will be one of the first nuclear reactors in the world of the new type EPR-1600 developed by the French AREVA.
Information about this was reported by the operator of ol3 nuclear power plant Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO). Earlier it was reported about plans to launch Olkiluoto at the end of 2018. According to the new schedule, it is planned to connect to the electricity grid in December 2018 with the beginning of regular production of electricity only in May 2019. During this time interval, a gradual increase in the capacity of the power unit up to the nominal value is to be achieved.
As part of the construction of the power unit, considerable work is to be done, and it is important that all necessary technical, human, and financial resources are allocated to the project. The reorganization of the French nuclear industry should not be grounds for delaying the launch.
Schedule
Cold break-in of the third block Olkiluoto nuclear power plant began in June this year, and a break-in is scheduled for the end of the year.
The consortium, which includes the companies Areva GmbH, Areva NP, and Siemens AG, started construction of the third unit of the Olkiluoto NPP in 2005 under the terms of the contract signed at the end of 2003, after AREVA won a tender for Rosatom’s construction (the loss of this tender was named among the main reasons for the resignation of the head of Rosatom). The completion of the construction of the 1600-MW reactor was originally planned for 2009, but during the construction, there have been many shifts in the launch period for various reasons.
The opinion of the European Commission
In September 2017, TVO appealed to the European Commission with a protest against the allocation of 4.5 billion Euros from the EU budget for the restructuring of the AREVA group. According to TVO, the planned reforms do not provide the necessary guarantees for the completion of the construction of the third unit of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The general director of the French engineering company Areva NP Bernard Fontana subsequently said that the decision of the European Commission was made on the condition that there would be no changes in the construction project.