Finnish EPR is finally producing at full power

This time it was perfect. The Nuclear Reactor Finnish Olkiluoto has been operating at full power since Friday, according to energy company TVO and French group Areva. Since it was connected to the electricity grid last March, its power has slowly increased.
With a capacity of 1600 MW, it is quite simply the most powerful reactor in Europe and the third in the world. It uses EPR technology, with plants under construction at Flamanville in France or Hinckley Point in the United Kingdom.

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The Olkiluoto plant, which consists of two other old reactors, now provides no less than 40% of Finland’s electricity production. EPR alone will produce about 19% and the two existing reactors together will contribute 21% of this production.
In 2003 an agreement was signed between the Finnish TVO and the Franco-German consortium formed by Areva and Siemens. It was originally planned to launch in 2010. But a long series of problems delayed this release, leading to a final delay of twelve years. After all, these setbacks cost Areva a lot of money and partially explained the French company’s drastic restructuring.
The Finnish Olkiluto reactor is the third EPR to enter service in the world, after the one built in Taishan, China. In France, the Flamanville plant is expected to start up in mid-2023. That is eleven years behind schedule for starting the project.

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