FIRST REACTOR OF ITS KIND

 

Olkiluoto in Eurajoki, Finland is the location of Europe’s largest construction site, since a third reactor is being built alongside Teollisuuden Voima’s (TVO) two nuclear power plant units currently operating.

 

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The Ol 3 European Pressurised Water Reactor type plant is the first of its kind in the world and in terms of capacity the largest at 1,600 MW.

 

Olkiluoto in Eurajoki, Finland is the location of Europe’s largest construction site, since a third reactor is being built alongside Teollisuuden Voima’s (TVO) two nuclear power plant units currently operating. The EPR-type plant (European Pressurised Water Reactor) is the first of its kind in the world and in terms of capacity the largest at 1,600 MW. It represents so-called third-generation nuclear power technology in which, among other things, energy economy and, in particular, safety has been improved significantly.

“Severe accident risk has been one of the design criteria adopted and contingencies for reactor core melt-down, for example, have been made,” says Project Manager Jouni Silvennoinen. The general design criteria for the power plant has been a service life of 60 years which, according to Silvennoinen, means that the quality requirements for construction are in part more stringent than ever before.

The construction work has lagged behind the original schedule. The builder, the consortium Areva-Siemens, and TVO have different views on the reasons for the delay, and the dispute is being heard in arbitration. “Despite the differences of opinion, the project is going forward at full steam, both at Olkiluoto and at the component manufacturers,” Silvennoinen says.

 

“The experiences obtained from the OL3 project will provide a sound basis for a fourth unit, for which TVO has submitted an application,” says Jouni Silvennoinen.

The third unit, OL3, is expected to be completed in 2012. Thousands of seams must still be welded and thousands of components installed before this milestone is reached, though. “There is still a great deal of work ahead before trial runs can be started.”

According to Silvennoinen, the experiences obtained from the OL3 project will provide a sound basis for a fourth unit, for which TVO has submitted an application.