The normal start-up of the Olkiluoto EPR nuclear reactor in Finland has been postponed to the beginning of March, announced the Finnish operator of the plant, which is already 13 years behind the original schedule.
“Normal operation is scheduled to begin on March 8, 2023,” operator TVO said in a statement.
In October, damage was detected in the water pumps of the Finnish reactor, adding a new delay to its regular commissioning.
According to TVO, the review of the damage to the pumps is largely complete.
“The water supply pumps were operated outside of the normal operating ranges during production testing, which resulted in higher than normal stress on the pumps,” he explained.
The country relies on this reactor, the most powerful in Europe (1,600 megawatts), to cope with the risk of electricity shortages during the winter.
As a result of the war in Ukraine, Finland has to do without electricity imports from its Russian neighbor, and Sweden is also experiencing problems with the availability of its nuclear fleet.
On September 30, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor reached full power for the first time, as part of tests carried out to reach normal operation.
On its own, it supplied 20% of the electricity consumed in Finland and 40% if the two existing Olkiluoto 1 and 2 reactors are added.
