The photo is sourced from tvo.fi
The new reactor will be connected to Finland’s general electricity grid in January 2022. In its first few months of operation, it will operate at a load not exceeding 25 %, with the aim of bringing it up to full capacity in June 2022.
“This moment will forever be remembered as a demonstration of persistent work for the commissioning of our new plant unit,” said TVO Senior Vice President for Electricity Production Marjo Mustonen. “It reflects strong nuclear professionalism and a will to make Finland’s greatest act for the climate a reality.”
The first two reactors at the Olkiluoto plant were connected to the grid in 1978 and 1980, according to data listed by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).
Two reactors are In service at the Loviisa plant – in operation since 1977 and 1980. The latest reactor at Olkiluoto, brought on stream last Tuesday, was the first to be commissioned in Finland in more than 40 years. And in 2028, Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear power company, plans to complete construction of the Hanhikivi-1 rector with a capacity of 1.2 GW.
According to PRIS figures, in 2020, nuclear power accounted for 33.9 % of power generation. Once the new reactor reaches full power, the country’s installed capacity will rise from 2.8 GW to 4.4 GW.
By way of comparison, the installed capacity of Finnish wind farms in 2020 stood at 2.5 GW, while capacity of solar panels totalled 0.4 GW and hydropower 3.2 GW, according to figures quoted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Finland was a signatory of the letter addressed to the European Union’s Executive Commission in October and published in various European newspapers calling for nuclear power to be included in the EU’s “taxonomy” of low-carbon forms of energy. In addition to Mika Lintilä, Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, other signatories included ministers and government representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
