Finland: Professor predicts OL3 could be country's last large nuclear reactor

Finnish power company Teollisuuden Voima's (TVO's) Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) plant unit could be Finland's last large nuclear reactor, according to Professor Juha Hyvärinen from the Department of Energy Technologies at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT University) in Finland. The development of small modular reactors (SMRs) is taking great strides. TVO's production cost is estimated at EUR 30-35 per megawatt hour. Finnish energy company Fortum is Finland's largest owner of nuclear power, followed by Finnish forest industry company UPM, which owns 31% of OL3. UPM's share of OL3's output is 500 MW, Fortum's 400 MW, energy company Helen's 160 MW, EPV Energy's 160 MW and forest industry company Stora Enso's 150 MW. OL3's price tag was initially estimated at EUR 3bn, but TVO has said that it is paying EUR 5.8bn for the plant unit. It has been estimated that the construction of OL3 has cost as much as EUR 11bn.