Posted on 05/19/2023 7:29:18 PM PDT by grundle
HELSINKI, April 15 (Reuters) - Finland's much-delayed Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor, Europe's largest, began regular output early on Sunday, its operator said, boosting energy security in a region to which Russia has cut gas and power supplies.
Nuclear power remains controversial in Europe, primarily due to safety concerns, and news of OL3's start-up comes as Germany on Saturday switches off its last three remaining reactors, while Sweden, France, Britain and others plan new developments.
OL3's operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which is owned by Finnish utility Fortum (FORTUM.HE) and a consortium of energy and industrial companies, has said the unit is expected to meet around 14% of Finland's electricity demand, reducing the need for imports from Sweden and Norway.
The new reactor is expected to produce for at least 60 years, TVO said in a statement on Sunday after completing the transition from testing to regular output.
"The production of Olkiluoto 3 stabilises the price of electricity and plays an important role in the Finnish green transition," TVO Chief Executive Jarmo Tanhua said in the statement.
Construction of the 1.6 gigawatt (GW) reactor, Finland's first new nuclear plant in more than four decades and Europe's first in 16 years, began in 2005. The plant was originally due to open four years later, but was plagued by technical issues.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Oh, great. Europe has enough problems as it is. Now Finland risks an invasion by German greenies. Perhaps Reich Marshal Merkel will lead the first wave.
Actually the krauts will at some point be begging their neibors to sell them energy.
On a theoretical level I love nuclear power, but the reality this century has been stories like this. Billions over budget and years late. Every alternative power source you can imagine would have been cheaper and faster than a plant like this.
I bet the Fins are damn glad to have it now. Unlike the Germans, they now will not be freezing in the darkness.
How did the French manage to do such a good job with nuclear power?
I’m all for nuclear energy. It’s immoral and wholly elitist to expect people to ruin themselves for home energy or for transportation.
The people pushing the ‘benefits’ of technology to expedite their globalist nightmare are the same ones who reject nuclear! Ha! More dictatorial Liberal hypocrisy!
“How did the French manage to do such a good job with nuclear power?”
Everyone used to be able to build nukes, but the French haven’t build new ones in a generation.
The real problem is the competition for STEM workers. In the 1970s the top graduates of engineering schools would go and work for GE, Westinghouse, or one of the big utilities and make the equivalent of $100K per year.
Now those employers are competing with a massive tech sector. They either pay engineers a lot more to get ones that are less able. These same issues have hit all major infrastructure projects.
By having the French government own it. How does that make you feel?
“Why don’t they just use the engineering blue prints of successful nuclear power plants with minor modifications for existing geological conditions to build new one?”
It’s a good idea, but reality is more complicated. For example the Turkey Point water pumps would be a model that was discontinued 30 years ago.
You need a current model of pumps, but that then requires redoing the piping design. That requires a new set of valves. All elements require a new set of sensors.
Repeat 1000 times for all the different components, and you have now designed an entire new plant.
Which shows the utter stupidity of “.New!New!New!”
The constant drunbeat to replace proven,reliable,working things with “new,improved?” AND foolishly discarding the ability(plans and tools) to make the old reliable thing.
Did the French choose one design and build many identical nuclear plants or did they build every plant unique as we apparently did?
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