Visually, this huge reactor is even more impressive than these two little brothers, commissioned 40 years ago. ATith a production capacity of 1650 megawatts, the EPR OL 3 will supply from the month of June, 15% of Finland’s consumption. These three reactors, OL 1, OL 2 and OL 3, are installed next to each other on the island of Olkiluoto. On one side, snow-covered forests shaken by the wind, on the other, the Gulf of Bothnia. The nearest town, Eurajoki, is 20 kilometers away.
While Emmanuel Macron is due to present France’s nuclear strategy on Thursday, February 10 and specify its recovery plan for new nuclear reactors, in Finland, the first European EPR-type nuclear reactor should be connected to the Finnish grid by the end of February. A new delay for this project because the start-up of this new generation nuclear reactor was initially planned for 2009. The mayor of Eurajoki, Vesa Lakaniemi, is impatiently awaiting the commissioning of the reactor. “Yes, it’s true that it took a long time. But in the end: this reactor, it’s there and it’s really important for Finland, which needs a lot of energy.”
“There, currently, we buy electricity from Sweden and Russia and when this reactor is 100% operational, we will no longer have to seek this energy beyond our borders.”
Vesa Lakaniemi, Mayor of Eurajokiat franceinfo
In this town of 9400 inhabitants, the reactors are part of the decor. The locals are used to it:Honestly, I don’t care a bit about nuclear power, I have no problem with that. Probably because I’ve known it all my life, so it doesn’t matter to me”, explains a resident. A local press photographer thinks that “security is at a very high level”. Another resident, a neighbor of the EPR, sees no reason to be afraid: “Our house is 300 m from the reactor and I have no problem with that. Nuclear is a very good thing and moreover, it is a green energy.”
In Finland, nuclear does not create debate and is seen very favorably. In particular, it has enabled the country to free itself from its dependence on Russian coal. All the inhabitants, including the elected ecologists in the government, see nuclear power as a green and secure energy. A position shared by the European Commission which has granted a green label to nuclear power plants and gas.
In Olkiluoto hardly anyone has heard of what happened in China this summer: an incident in the core of the EPR reactor which led to the shutdown of the plant. Ulla Klotzer, anti-nuclear activist, is one of the few to denounce what she considers to be an omerta. “Our leaders, who are pro-nuclear, don’t want any criticism and the mainstream media are all pro-nuclear so we don’t have any information, like for example these vibrations in the EPR reactor in China. Nothing at all !”
She denounces an irresponsible decision: “He shouldn’t have started that reactor until the problem in China was solved. And at the moment it is still not settled! So until we find an answer to this problem: no reactor should be commissioned.” Obviously, this is not at all what the owner of the plant, the operator TVO (Teollisuuden Voima Oyj), thinks, who did not wish to answer our questions.
Long time no see! At #NNF22you’ll have the opportunity to meet the people of @tvo_fi & @Posiva_fi and discuss about the economics of sustainable #nuclear. We hope that #OL3 will act as an icebreaker to heat up the discussions. Read more: https://t.co/2hiCx7myD0#TVO #Posiva pic.twitter.com/PJvK4DXvAV
— Teollisuuden Voima (@tvo_fi) February 7, 2022
In a presentation clip, he explains that the launch of this reactor is the most important act in the fight against climate change in the history of Finland.