Maintenance and repair activities have been completed in the turbine island of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR plant unit. Test production phase continues at 60 percent power level.
At OL3 the sixty-percent power level equals an output of about 850 megawatt (MW). The nominal output rating of the Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 plant units is 890 MW. The production of Olkiluoto 3 during test production phase at a power level of 60 percent covers about ten percent of the current electricity consumption in Finland. The tests carried out at the plant unit during the test production phase last from a few hours to several days. During the tests, the plant unit is operated at significantly lower power levels or completely disconnected from the national grid.
According to the test schedule given by the plant supplier, test operation will proceed to 80-percent power level tests after mid-August. With a power output of approximately 1300 MW at that power level the Olkiluoto 3 plant unit will be bigger than any other Finnish power plant unit. The first full-power tests where power unit will produce electricity an output of about 1600 MW are scheduled in September.
The purpose of the test production phase is to put the plant unit through different tests in varying conditions and at varying power levels. The operational capability of the national grid in case of sudden power cutsis also tested at the same time. Any needs for repairs or maintenance works identified in the tests are addressed during the test operation phase. In addition, based on previous experience from the test production phasethe schedule includes time for full-scale plant tests and it’s analysis.
The test production phase of the plant unit will be completed in December 2022 allowing Olkiluoto 3 to move forward to regular and normal electricity production. After that, the plant unit will produce electricity in full power, except during scheduled annual outages. The production volume by OL3 equals about 14 percent of the total Finnish electricity consumption. Olkiluoto 3 will reduce the need for imported electricity in Finland to less than half.
The progress of the test operation and the hourly production forecasts can be followed on our website at: https://www.tvo.fi/en/index/production/plantunits/ol3/ol3forecast.html. Almost real-time power output figures of the plant units are presented on the home page of the website.
For further information, please contact:
Johanna Aho, Head of Communications, Tel. +358 (0) 40 729 0822
Source: TVO
