The first outage of the 1600 MWe EPR at unit 3 of Finland’s Olkiluoto NPP (OL3) will be extended by a week. Initially the outage was supposed to end on 8 April, but owner operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) says the outage will now be completed by 15 April. The shutdown of the unit and preparation for the fuel unloading have taken more time than planned, TVO noted.
The schedule delays have been caused by actions performed for the first time during shutdown, slower cooling of components than anticipated and technical issues. For example, these affected the cranes, in the sealing doors of reactor pool ventilation and opening the pressure vessel head.
The outage of OL3 have been ongoing for about two weeks and work has otherwise progressed well, TVO said. Currently fuel unloading has been completed. Approximately 1,100 external professionals are involved in the outage. Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 are normally producing electricity with a total capacity of about 1,780 MWe.
OL3 began regular electricity production in April 2023 following the completion of trial operation. Construction of OL3 began in 2005 and various setbacks and delays mean the plant is some 14 years behind the original schedule and significantly over budget. OL3’s final price tag is put at some $11bn ($12bn), some three times what was initially estimated. OL3 attained first criticality in December 2021 and was connected to the grid on in March 2022. The EPR was operated at full capacity for the first time in late September 2022. However, cracks were identified in the impellers of the feedwater pumps located in the turbine island, causing further delays.
Image: Olkiluoto 3 (courtesy of Teollisuuden Voima Oyj)
