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Finland warns of power outage risk over nuclear plant startup delay – Olkiluoto 3 reactor unreliable?

HELSINKI, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Finland faces a greater risk of power outages in coming months because of another delay in starting up the new Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor, national grid operator Fingrid said on Friday.

Fingrid and the state energy authority have told citizens and companies to prepare for possible blackouts, particularly if OL3 does not prove reliable, as countries across Europe seek to curb energy usage, grappling with reduced Russian gas and other energy supplies because of the Ukraine war………………………………

In October, the operator said cracks were found in the OL3 reactor’s four feedwater pumps after test production, further delaying startup originally planned to be in 2009.

Test production has been postponed until Dec. 25 at the earliest, from Dec. 11, TVO said, while full production will begin on Feb. 6 at the earliest compared with Jan. 22.

“The investigation into the damage in Olkiluoto 3’s feedwater pumps has proceeded into its final stages. Once the investigation is complete, a decision will be made on the startup of the plant unit,” TVO said in a statement.

December 9, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Finland, safety