OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Was going to wait to post this until it was grid synch'd, but that seems to be coming up fast.
On December 21st, 2021, the reactor went critical for the first time. This has been a LONG time coming. The plant is currently doing pre-commissioning testing, forced trips and similar, at low (testing) power levels before it gets synch'd to the grid, which is slated to occur on the 29th of January. Initially at 50MW as indicated here:
www.tvo.fi
Unit 3 is on the left, the two existing BWR units to the right in this photo:
This EPR, at 1,650MWe NET, will almost double the site output, complimenting the 890MWe produced by each of the two neighbouring BWR's. This will bump the site from providing ~17% of Finland's electricity to ~30%.
The EPR does not have the best history. An evolutionary design, it has often been described as being unnecessarily complex, which has impacted construction times. There are in fact FOUR EPR's in various stages of construction in Europe (two units at HPC in the UK), ALL of which have been hit by cost overruns and significant delays:
1. Olkiluoto (Finland, single unit) started construction in 2005
2. Flamanville (France, single unit) started construction in 2006
3. Hinkley Point C (Great Britain, two units) started construction in 2016
The two active EPR's are in China:
Taishan (China, two units) started construction in 2009, grid connected in 2018 (Unit 1) and 2019 (Unit 2)
There is now an "EPR2" design that's supposed to have addressed the excess complexity and subsequently streamlined construction. The 16 proposed units to be constructed in France are slated to leverage this design. This project was announced near the end of last year by Macron. It has been stated that construction on the EPR2 projects will not commence until Flamanville is complete.
Once ramped up, the new plant should greatly reduce Finland's emissions:
On December 21st, 2021, the reactor went critical for the first time. This has been a LONG time coming. The plant is currently doing pre-commissioning testing, forced trips and similar, at low (testing) power levels before it gets synch'd to the grid, which is slated to occur on the 29th of January. Initially at 50MW as indicated here:
TVO - OL3 Power Output
www.tvo.fi
Unit 3 is on the left, the two existing BWR units to the right in this photo:
This EPR, at 1,650MWe NET, will almost double the site output, complimenting the 890MWe produced by each of the two neighbouring BWR's. This will bump the site from providing ~17% of Finland's electricity to ~30%.
The EPR does not have the best history. An evolutionary design, it has often been described as being unnecessarily complex, which has impacted construction times. There are in fact FOUR EPR's in various stages of construction in Europe (two units at HPC in the UK), ALL of which have been hit by cost overruns and significant delays:
1. Olkiluoto (Finland, single unit) started construction in 2005
2. Flamanville (France, single unit) started construction in 2006
3. Hinkley Point C (Great Britain, two units) started construction in 2016
The two active EPR's are in China:
Taishan (China, two units) started construction in 2009, grid connected in 2018 (Unit 1) and 2019 (Unit 2)
There is now an "EPR2" design that's supposed to have addressed the excess complexity and subsequently streamlined construction. The 16 proposed units to be constructed in France are slated to leverage this design. This project was announced near the end of last year by Macron. It has been stated that construction on the EPR2 projects will not commence until Flamanville is complete.
Once ramped up, the new plant should greatly reduce Finland's emissions:
