Olkiluoto 3 - First EPR in Europe is alive

OVERKILL

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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:

Unit 3 is on the left, the two existing BWR units to the right in this photo:
1643043223213.png


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:
Screen Shot 2022-01-24 at 12.12.30 PM.png
 
Wait I thought green natural gas was the best complement to wind and solar.....shut down those polluting nukes!:unsure::LOL:

(that was 100% sarcasm if you arent fluent in smilie)
 
When I was studying I worked in Olkiluoto 1 and 2 back in the 80s in annual service shutdowns and it was interesting.

I have somewhat mixed feelings on having a relatively new type nuclear power plant so close home but it is what it is. One has to note that nuclear energy production has been very safe in Finland so far.

The Project Onkalo they have in Olkiluoto is quite impressive, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository
 
When I was studying I worked in Olkiluoto 1 and 2 back in the 80s in annual service shutdowns and it was interesting.

I have somewhat mixed feelings on having a relatively new type nuclear power plant so close home but it is what it is. One has to note that nuclear energy production has been very safe in Finland so far.

The Project Onkalo they have in Olkiluoto is quite impressive, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onkalo_spent_nuclear_fuel_repository
Yes, the two DGR's that have been approved in Europe puts them much further along than we are on this side of the pond.
 
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