OL3 is progressing towards commissioning
It will still be more than three years until regular electricity generation in Olkiluoto 3 plant unit will commence. This schedule estimate is made by the plant supplier Areva-Siemens consortium. The next steps towards commissioning are now more accurate.
There was also a positive tone in the OL3 news coverage at the end of the summer. The instrumentation and control (I&C) system, which is vital to the project, took a big step forward when the I&C operational cabinets were transferred to Olkiluoto after approved factory acceptance tests.
- The arrival of I&C operational cabinets was an important step. Now we have all the main elements at Olkiluoto to complete the construction. The main focus now is to keep the scheduled targets at the site works, Jouni Silvennoinen, Senior Vice President responsible for the OL3 Project at TVO, says.
After the arrival of the process automation at Olkiluoto, the number of workforce at the site has risen at a fast pace and is now about two thousand. The quiet phase of two years at the site is over.
Now the project is focusing with about two thousand people on completing the installations. These include the remaining I&C system, equipment, pipeline and cabling installations. As soon as the installations are completed next spring the system commissioning will be started. At the same time in the spring 2016, operating license for OL3 will be applied for. After successful test run and obtaining the operating license, nuclear commissioning of the plant unit will be started.
The power generation of OL3 is urgently needed. Last year, Finland imported electricity from the neighboring countries throughout the year at a pace of an average of 2 050 megawatts. OL3 will replace a significant part of the import requirement, but not completely. Due to several power plant shutdown decisions, the Finnish electricity self-sufficiency has continued to weaken.
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