Hope Reactor Olkiluoto 3
Finns want to be independent with nuclear power – and are wrong
By Diana Dittmer
09/10/2022, 6:01 p.m
In just a few weeks, Finland’s largest nuclear reactor to date will be fully operational. Olkiluoto 3 is intended to make the country independent of electricity imports from Russia. Other European countries have similar dreams of nuclear power as a solution to the energy crisis. But they all have the same catch.
The contrast could hardly be greater: while Germany is arguing about the sense and purpose of using nuclear power to support the energy crisis, Finland is looking forward to the full operation of its new nuclear power plant in Olkiluoto. Finland is pro-nuclear. Even the Greens believe in nuclear energy as a transitional technology. In total there are five reactors at two nuclear power plants – Loviisa and Olkiluoto. In 2020, nuclear energy covered a total of around 20 percent of the energy consumption for the 5.5 million inhabitants.
Olkiluoto, on the west coast of Finland, is the most modern and newest nuclear power plant in Europe. The current performance of the third reactor of the nuclear power plant, which is still in the test phase and has been slowly ramped up for months, is now at a good 60 percent. In good time before the Finnish winter, it should compensate for the lack of electricity due to the loss of Russian imports and prevent blackouts. Last week showed how much time is of the essence: The Finnish grid operator Fingrid had to put two emergency power plants into operation on Thursday in order to avert a power outage.
Only on Friday – a day late – did the reactor finally reach the much-awaited mark of 1000 megawatts of power. If there are no incidents, the maximum output of 1650 megawatts will be reached early next month. Regular electricity production is scheduled to begin in mid-December, reports the finance agency Bloomberg. Finland can’t wait.
independence from Russia
The country is hoping for a liberation from the energy crisis. Finland has long relied on electricity imports from its neighbors – mainly Russia and Sweden. About a fifth had to be imported so far. Most recently, half of them came from Russia. That ended in May, after the invasion of Ukraine. Russia stopped deliveries. In view of the supply bottleneck, the Finnish grid operator warned of so-called rolling blackouts, in which the load on the electricity grid is intentionally reduced and consumption is restricted until a power shortage is over.
Such measures should become unnecessary in the future thanks to the nuclear power from Olkiluoto. Olkiluoto 3 will be the most powerful reactor in Europe and alone will be able to cover 14 percent of Finland’s electricity needs. Finland not only wants to keep the power-hungry industries running in its own country, but also help to relieve the other Nordic economies in the energy crisis. Electricity should be affordable. The reactor goes online at a time of record high prices.
Something should also be done to counteract climate change. Vice President of the operating company TVO, Marjo Mustonen, spoke of “Finland’s greatest act for the climate” last December when Olkiluoto 3 was commissioned. While nuclear reactors are enormously expensive, the cost of Olkiluoto 3 has exploded to $6.4 billion. In addition, reactors take years to build, yet they are a reliable alternative to wind and solar farms and emit little CO2.
Change of mood in Europe
Nuclear energy is also gaining popularity elsewhere in Europe for these reasons. Earlier this year, the EU classified nuclear power as green energy, despite many criticisms and concerns. Many of the more than 200 nuclear power plants currently under construction or in planning worldwide belong to the so-called third generation and are considered to be safer. In 13 of the 27 EU countries, nuclear energy is used to produce electricity and the expansion of nuclear energy is being promoted – in order to achieve climate goals or become more independent.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Russian gas supply freeze have posed new challenges for the energy supply and caused a change in mood. Ironically, in Germany – the anti-nuclear nation – even the exit from nuclear power is suddenly an issue. Economics Minister Robert Habeck announced on Monday that two of the three nuclear power plants still in operation would be kept at least as an emergency reserve and made available for the power supply until spring.
Actually, at the end of this year, the intention was to finally say goodbye to nuclear energy. The last three nuclear power plants should go offline by December 31st. The question of whether Germany can get through the crisis and, above all, the upcoming winter without nuclear power divides the nation.
Nobody talks about Russian uranium
Rightly so. Not only recurring security incidents – Olkiluoto 3, for example, had to be shut down quickly in January – but also incalculable costs in the construction of the reactors show that nuclear power is a difficult field. Safety concerns, the risk of exposure to radiation for people and the environment, and the reluctance of investors cannot be ignored.
However, the bigger catch in the current energy crisis is different: Contrary to what it seems, nuclear energy does not make people quite as independent and free as some might wish. The Finns are also aware of this. This year they stopped the construction of another nuclear power plant involving the Russian energy company Rosatom. Reason: A significant part of the uranium for the Finnish nuclear reactors comes from Russia, the country that attacked Ukraine and triggered the energy crisis in the first place.
Dependence on Russian electricity is one thing, dependency on Russian uranium is another. Last year, Russia supplied around a fifth of the uranium for nuclear power plants across Europe. Uranium is not on the EU sanctions list. Things are no better in the USA: 99 percent of the uranium for 95 nuclear power plants is imported – mainly from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Finland wants to become more independent with nuclear power? It is not quite that easy.