Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant

Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant
Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in 2015.
Location of Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Finland
Country	Finland
Location	Eurajoki
Coordinates
Status	Operational
Construction began	1973
Commission date	10 October 1979
Owner(s)	Teollisuuden Voima Oy
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	2 x BWR 1 x PWR (EPR)
Reactor supplier	ASEA-Atom (units 1 and 2) Areva (unit 3)
Cooling source	Gulf of Bothnia
Cooling towers	no
Power generation
Units operational	2×880 MW
Make and model	Stal-Laval (units 1 and 2) Siemens (unit 3)
Units under const.	1×1,600 MW
Units planned	1 (1,000–1,800 MW)
Nameplate capacity	1,760 MW
Annual generation	14,268 GWh
Website www.tvo.fi

The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (Finnish: Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos) is on Olkiluoto Island, which is on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia in the municipality of Eurajoki in western Finland. It is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), a subsidiary of Pohjolan Voima.

The Olkiluoto plant consists of two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with 860 MWe each. Unit 3, an EPR reactor, is still under construction, but various problems with workmanship and supervision have created costly delays which have been the subject of an inquiry by the Finnish nuclear regulator Säteilyturvakeskus (STUK). In December 2012, Areva estimated that the full cost of building the reactor will be about €8.5 billion, or almost three times the delivery price of €3 billion. A license for a fourth reactor to be built at the site was granted by the Finnish parliament in July 2010, but discontinued by the government in September 2014. TVO has the option to reapply for the license in the future.

According to Financial Times in December 2014 construction of unit 3 has descended into farce as it is currently expected to open nine years late and several billions of euros over budget.

Units 1 and 2

Units 1 and 2 consists of two BWRs with 880 MW each. The main contractor was ASEA-Atom, now a part of Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB. Turbine generators were supplied by Stal-Laval. The units' architecture was designed by ASEA-Atom. The reactor pressure vessels were constructed by Uddcomb Sweden AB, and reactor internal parts, mechanical components by Finnatom. The electrical equipment was supplied by Strömberg. Unit 1 was constructed by Atomirakennus and unit 2 by Jukola and Työyhtymä. Unit 1 achieved its initial criticality in July 1978 and it started commercial operations in October 1979. Unit 2 achieved its initial criticality in October 1979 and it started commercial operations in July 1982.

Major upgrades were carried out to the units in 2010 and 2011, including replacement of turbines and generators, isolation valves, electrical switchgear and seawater pumps. The upgrades increased the net electrical output by 20 MW to 880 MW each.

Unit 3

Olkiluoto 3 in 2009.

In February 2005, the Finnish cabinet gave its permission to TVO to construct a new nuclear reactor, making Finland the first Western European country in 15 years to order one. The construction of the unit began in 2005. The start of commercial operation was planned for 2010, but has been pushed back several times. As of January 2016, the estimate is 2018.

Olkiluoto 3 is the first EPR, which is a type of third generation PWR, to have gone into construction. It will have a nameplate capacity of 1600 MW. Japan Steel Works and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries manufactured the unit's 526-ton reactor pressure vessel.

At the start of construction, the main contractor was Areva NP, a joint venture of Areva and Siemens. However, in 2009, Siemens sold its one-third share of Areva NP to Areva, which is now the main contractor. Siemens remained on the project as the subcontractor with the main responsibility for constructing the turbine hall. Areva is currently in negotiations to sell a majority stake in Areva NP, its nuclear reactor and fuel business, to Électricité de France.

According to TVO, the construction phase of the project would create a total of about 30,000 person-years of employment directly and indirectly; that the highest number of on-site employees has been almost 4,400; and that the operation phase would create 150 to 200 permanent jobs.

Timeline

main milestones of the project and other surrounding events

date	event
Dec. 2000	TVO applies to the Finnish cabinet for a decision-in-principle on the new unit
17 Jan. 2002	decision-in-principle by the Finnish cabinet
24 May 2002	the Finnish parliament approves the decision-in-principle
8 Jan. 2004	TVO submits construction application to the Finnish cabinet
17 Feb. 2005	the Finnish cabinet approves the construction application
July 2005	start of construction
May 2006	lifting and installation of the bottom part of containment liner
June 2007	reactor building containment liner rises to level +12.5 m
May 2008	fuel building APC shell completed
2009	Siemens withdraws from the joint venture with Areva, leaving the latter as the main contractor
Jan. 2009	reactor pressure vessel and vessel head arrive on site
May 2009	main control room lifting in Safeguard Building 2
summer 2009	polar crane installation, dome installation
autumn 2009	steam generators arrive on site
Sep. 2009	EPR dome installed
June 2010	installation of the reactor pressure vessel in the reactor building
June 2011	Anne Lauvergeon leaves her position as CEO of Areva
Nov. 2011	installation of heavy components of the primary cooling system complete
July 2012	delay in start of production to no earlier than 2015 announced
December 2012	Areva estimates that the full cost of building the reactor will be about €8.5 billion, or almost three times the delivery price of €3 billion
February 2013	TVO said that it is "preparing for the possibility" that the third unit at Olkiluoto may not start operating until 2016
February 2014	Areva shutting down construction due to dispute over compensations and unfinished automation planning. Operation estimated to be delayed until 2018–2020.
September 2014	Areva announced it expected construction completion and commissioning to start in mid-2016, with operation expected to start in 2018. TVO stated they were surprised that commissioning was expected to take so long.
December 2015	The operational automation systems began to be delivered and installed. Commercial operation is estimated for December 2018.
January 2016	Testing of the operational automation systems begins.

Construction delays

The first license application for the third unit was made in December 2000 and the date of the unit's entry into service was estimated to be 2010. However, since the start of construction, several delays to the schedule have been announced. In July 2012 TVO announced that the unit would not go into service before 2015, five years after the original estimate. In a statement, the operator said it was "not pleased with the situation" although solutions to various problems were being found and work was "progressing," and that it was waiting for a new launch date from Areva and Siemens. In February 2014, TVO said that it is could not give an estimate of the plant's startup date, because it was "still waiting for the Areva-Siemen [sic] consortium to provide it with an updated overall schedule for the project." Later the same month it was reported that Areva was shutting down construction due to the dispute over compensations and unfinished automation planning. According to Kauppalehti the estimated opening was delayed until 2018–2020.

The delays have been due to various problems with planning, supervision, and workmanship, and have been the subject of an inquiry by STUK, the Finnish nuclear safety regulator. The first problems that surfaced were irregularities in the foundation concrete, and caused a delay of months. Later, it was found that subcontractors had provided heavy forgings that were not up to project standards and which had to be re-cast. An apparent problem constructing the reactor's unique double-containment structure also caused delays, as the welders had not been given proper instructions.

In 2009, Petteri Tiippana, the director of STUK's nuclear power plant division, told the BBC that it was difficult to deliver nuclear power plant projects on schedule because builders were not used to working to the exacting standards required on nuclear construction sites, since so few new reactors had been built in recent years.

At the end of 2013, TVO said that the Areva-Siemens consortium plans to reduce workers and subcontractors on the construction site and says that it expects the contractor to provide details about the expected impact on the project's schedule.

After the construction of the unit started in 2005, Areva began constructing EPRs in Flamanville, France, and in Taishan, China. However, as of July 2012, the construction of the EPR in France is four years behind schedule, and it seems that the two EPRs being constructed in China will be the first ones to enter service.

Cost

The main contractor, Areva, is building the unit for a fixed price of €3 billion, so in principle, any construction costs above that price fall on Areva. In July 2012, those overruns were estimated at more than €2 billion, and in December 2012, Areva estimated that the full cost of building the reactor would be about €8.5 billion, well over the previous estimate of €6.4 billion. Because of the delays, TVO and Areva are both seeking compensation from each other through the International Court of Arbitration. In October 2013, TVO's demand for compensation from Areva had risen to €1.8 billion, and Areva's from TVO to €2.6 billion. In December 2013, Areva increased its demand to €2.7 billion.

According to some estimates, Olkiluoto reactor could be the fifth or sixth most expensive structure in the world, even more expensive than the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

Criticism

In 2009, professor Stephen Thomas wrote, "Olkiluoto has become an example of all that can go wrong in economic terms with new reactors," and that Areva and the TVO "are in bitter dispute over who will bear the cost overruns and there is a real risk now that the utility will default."

The project has also been criticized by STUK because "instructions have not been observed in the welding of pipes and the supervision of welding." STUK has also noted that there have been delays in submitting proper paperwork.

Olkiluoto 3 was supposed to be the first reactor of 3+ generation which would pave the way for a new wave of identical reactors across Europe, safe, affordable, and delivered on time. The delays and cost overruns have had knock-on effects in other countries.

The construction workforce includes about 3,800 employees from 500 companies. 80% of the workers are foreigners, mostly from eastern European countries. It has been reported that one Bulgarian contracting firm is owned by the mafia, and that Bulgarian workers have been required to pay weekly protection fees to the mafia, wages have been unpaid, employees have been told not to join a union and that employers also reneged on social security payments.

Unit 4

On 14 February 2008, TVO submitted an environmental impact assessment of unit four to the Ministry of Employment and Economy. On 21 April 2010, the government of Finland decided to grant a permit to Teollisuuden Voima for the fourth reactor in Olkiluoto. The decision was approved by the parliament on 1 July 2010. If constructed, the fourth unit would be a PWR or a BWR with a power output of 1,000 to 1,800 MW.

In September 2014, with unit 3 still unfinished, the Finnish government refused to extend TVO's permit for its Olkiluoto 4th reactor, giving a permit to a single-reactor project of Fennovoima consortium to build up a wholly new nuclear plant instead. Economic Affairs Minister Jan Vapaavuori referred to the long delay of the OL 3rd reactor and to unsatisfactory assurances by TVO that the 4th unit would ever be built. Nevertheless PM Stubb stated that the rejection didn't spell the end for the OL4 project, and that TVO would have the opportunity to re-apply for a nuclear permit sometime before June 2015.

In June 2015 TVO decided not to apply for a construction permit for the Olkiluoto 4 unit because of delays with the unit 3, however saying they are prepared to file for a new decision-in-principle later.

Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository

Onkalo pilot repository cave.

Main article: Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository

The Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository is a deep geological repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, the first such repository in the world. It is currently under construction at the Olkiluoto plant by the company Posiva, owned by the nuclear power plant operators Fortum and TVO.

Agriculture

The waste heat, an output common to all thermal power plants, which heats the cooling water (at 13 °C) is utilized for small-scale agriculture before being pumped back to the sea. The power plant hosts the northernmost vineyard in the world, a 0.1 ha experimental plot that yields 850 kg Zilga grapes annually. Another use is a pond for growing crabs, whitefish and sturgeon for caviar.

Incidents

In April 2014 a turbine steam condenser of unit 1 had a small seawater leak, at a rate of two litres per hour. According to the operator, the leak forced to limit the plant output down to 300 MW, but was not serious and was to be repaired in a day.

See also

• Areva
• Boiling water reactor
• EPR
• Into Eternity (film)
• Nuclear engineering
• Nuclear power in Finland
• Onkalo spent nuclear fuel repository
• Siemens
• Teollisuuden Voima
• Pressurized water reactor

External links

• Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland
• European Pressurised Reactor at Olkiluoto 3, Finland – Brief Interim Review of the Porosity and Durability Properties of the In Situ Cast Concrete at the Olkiluoto EPR Construction Reactor at Olkiluoto 3, Finland – Review of the Finnish Radiation Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) Assessment, R3123-A2, July 2005
• Reactor at Olkiluoto 3, Finland – Review of the Finnish Radiation Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) Assessment, R3123-A2, July 2005
• Status of Nuclear Power in Finland.