First criticality reached at Finland's Olkiluoto-3 EPR nuclear plant

First criticality was reached at the 1.6-GW Olkiluoto-3 EPR nuclear plant in Finland in the early hours of Dec. 21, owner/operator TVO said.

With neutron source rods now installed in three fuel assemblies, power levels can be increased gradually with commissioning tests undertaken at specified steps in the reactor's ramp-up.

"Electricity production starts at a 30 percent power level, which is approximately 500 MW, at the end of January 2022. OL3's regular electricity production starts in June 2022," TVO said.

A TVO power-time curve during commissioning showed first power-to-grid generation of 300 MW on Jan. 21, ramping up to 500 MW in the first half of February, then up to nearly 1.3-GW around March 8.

Day-ahead baseload power for Finland dipped to Eur360.78/MWh for delivery Dec. 22 from Eur405.52/MWh for Dec. 21, Nord Pool data showed.

First quarter 2022 Nordic power last traded at Eur149.10/MWh, data on the Nasdaq exchange showed Dec. 21.

OL3 was built for TVO by Areva and Siemens. The project is about three times over its original Eur3.2 billion ($3.6 billion) budget and 12 years behind schedule.