Long-delayed and costly nuclear reactor goes online in Finland

Finland’s long-delayed and costly new nuclear reactor went online on Saturday amid expectations that it will boost the Nordic country’s electricity self-sufficiency and help to achieve its carbon neutrality targets.

Finnish operator Teollisuuden Voima said the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor in western Finland linked up to the national grid and started power generation.

It will go through a trial period of about four months during which it will generate electricity only at a fraction of its 1,600 megawatt capacity.

The reactor will reach peak capacity in July when it will cover an estimated 14 per cent of Finland’s total electricity demand, reducing the country’s need to import electricity from Norway, Russia and Sweden, Teollisuuden Voima said.

The last time a new nuclear reactor was commissioned in Finland was more than 40 years ago. The Olkiluoto 3 is among western Europe’s first new reactors in more than a decade.

The Olkiluoto 3 is a third generation European-type pressurised water reactor developed and built by a joint venture between France’s Areva and Germany’s Siemens. Construction began in 2005 and was to be completed four years later. However, the project was plagued by several technological problems that lead to lawsuits.