Finland's OL3 nuclear power reactor postpones restart from maintenance

INTER RAO Lietuva AB

06/02/2023 05:58

OSLO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Finland's Olkiluoto 3 (OL3)
nuclear power reactor has postponed a restart of test production
after maintenance to Feb. 10 from a previous plan to resume
output on Feb. 6, operator TVO said on Sunday.
    The startup of permanent production, originally scheduled to
take place 14 years ago, is now meanwhile expected to take place
on March 15, a delay of four days compared with a plan presented
on Feb. 2, a regulatory filing by TVO showed.
        Under construction since 2005, OL3 has faced several
technical mishaps, which sparked costly delays and a lengthy
legal battle.
    During testing in September, OL3's output for the first time
hit full capacity of 1,600 megawatts, making it the most
powerful electricity production facility in Europe and the
third-most powerful globally, according to TVO.
    It is Finland's first new nuclear plant in more than four
decades and Europe's first in some 15 years, with a capacity
equal to about 14% of total Finnish electricity consumption, TVO
has said.
 (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Kim Coghill)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))