Finland’s OL2 nuclear reactor was shut down early on Friday and will remain off the electricity grid for an indefinite period due to problems caused by increased moisture in the facility’s turbine, operator TVO said.
The nuclear power plant units Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 (OL1 and OL2) plant units are identical: they are boiling water reactors. The current net electrical output of the plant units is 890 megawatts (MW). OL1 was first connected to the national grid in September 1978 and OL2 followed in February 1980. The Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) plant unit, is the most powerful nuclear power unit in the world. Approximately 30% of Finland’s electricity will soon come from one island, where the entire lifecycle of nuclear power is managed.
There was no impact on nuclear safety, TVO added.
The outage comes at a time of low wind power generation that has already lifted Finnish prices, according to Refinitiv analyst Petter Engblom Nordby.
Electricity prices for Friday soared up to 270 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) for hours where demand is typically highest, far exceeding prices in other parts of the Nordics and continental Europe, data from power exchange Nord Pool showed.
Finland opened OL3, its first new nuclear power plant in 15 years earlier this year and electricity prices promptly plummeted. Now that’s a way to get to their elusive Net Zero!
Finland fired up Europe's first nulcear plant in 15 years this year. Within months their power prices fell by 75%.
— Anti-Socialist Matt Canavan (@mattjcan) August 17, 2023
We need nuclear energy to bring down our power prices too.
My article in @couriermail todayhttps://t.co/4MBeA62abh