After long delays Europe's largest nuclear reactor gets go-ahead in Finland

After years of delays, runaway costs and heated contractual disagreements, the construction of Europe's largest nuclear reactor is nearing completion in Eurajoki, Southwest Finland.

Built by French-German consortium Areva-Siemens, Olkiluoto 3 is Finland's fifth nuclear plant. With a capacity of 1,600 MW, it is expected to generate around 14% of the country's energy.

Construction of the reactor began in 2005 with completion originally scheduled for 2009. However, numerous setbacks including faulty components and safety tests have dogged the project's completion. 

Twelve years after originally planned, Olkiluoto 3 was granted a charging permit by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority last Friday.

Read more: Germany to pay €2.4bn compensation for post-Fukushima nuclear shutdown

It is anticipated that the new nuclear plant will have a significant impact on the country's greenhouse gas emissions. 

Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs, Mika Lintilä said: “We need a lot more clean and secure electricity when the domestic industry becomes electrified. The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority’s charging permit for the Olkiluoto 3 unit is a step towards large-scale clean energy production, which will reduce Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated several million tonnes.”

The €3 billion original estimated budget almost tripled to €8.4 billion following the setbacks and technical problems. Lawsuits followed and negotiations between the Areva-Siemens consortium and Finnish nuclear power company TVO are still ongoing.

The reactor in Olkiluoto 3 will be loaded with 241 fuel assemblies consisting of 128 tonnes of uranium.

Regular power generation is expected to begin in early 2022.

Back to Homepage

Back to Energy & Utilities