Problems delay restart of OL3 reactor by six days | Yle news

Olkiluoto 3 was taken offline at the beginning of last month for annual maintenance.

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The outage of Olkiluoto 3, Finland’s newest nuclear reactor that is currently offline for maintenance, will be extended by six days due to technical problems, operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) announced on Sunday.

The facility was closed on March 2 for the first round of annual maintenance, according to the company, adding that approximately 1,100 professionals were involved in the effort.

The company’s other two reactors, Olkiluoto 1 and 2, produced electricity at normal levels of about 1,780 MW, the company said.

Maintenance on OL3 is now expected to be completed by May 4. The reactor was put into operation just over a year ago, after a construction delay of fourteen years.

When maintenance was scheduled to begin last month, TVO noted that OL3 will operate with annual maintenance outages for the first few years, but that the gaps between those outages will widen over time.

Last year, OL3 generated 1,600 MW, accounting for more than a tenth of Finland’s electricity production.