Kati Pohjanpalo, Bloomberg News
HELSINSKI
EnergiesNet.com 09 12 2022
Power output at Europe’s newest reactor exceeded a landmark 1,000 megawatts on Friday morning just as the power market needs all the megawatts it can get.
Finland’s Olkiluoto-3 nuclear unit will provide much-needed supplies to the Nordic nation’s taut power system when it reaches the full 1,600 megawatt capacity later this autumn, after imports from Russia were cut completely in May. The Finnish grid has warned of rolling power cuts this winter as Europe faces its worst energy crisis in decades.
The unit has faced challenges during the ramp-up, most recently on Thursday causing the Finnish network manager to fire up two backup power plants to balance the grid and avert a power shortage, after it failed to reach the expected 1,000-megawatt threshold as projected.
The reactor, which cost operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj roughly $6.4 billion and was once set to be the world’s biggest, has been in test stage since starting in March. It’s set to reach full output during the testing early next month and start regular production mid-December.
bloomberg.com 09 09 2022
