Why OL3?

Growing demand for electricity

It is estimated that the overall growth of energy consumption in Finland will slow down in the future but that an increasing percentage of the total energy consumption will be electricity. Without corrective action, the gap between consumption and production capacity is expected to reach 7,000 MW by 2020.

The arguments for OL3 stated in the early 2000's are still valid:

• the unit replaces old power plants running on fossile fuels after their decommissioning.
• together with renewable energy sources, OL3 helps Finland to minimize emissions. The environmental impact of nuclear power generation is minimal compared with other forms of energy generation.
• the price of electricity produced with nuclear power is predictable and stable, which is important for the Finnish industry and society.
• OL3 reduces the dependency on electricity import. Electricity consumption is growing in the Nordic countries as well as in Russia, and the market price of electricity can rise unreasonably high especially in dry years or during cold winters.
  

In addition OL3 will compensate for the increasing electricity demand caused by the increasing number of single households, the growing number of electrical devices and the increasing amount of living space per person.