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Nuclear power in Finland
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Nuclear power in Finland
As of 2024, Finland has five operating nuclear reactors in two power plants, all located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Nuclear power provided about 35% of the country's electricity generation in 2022. The first research nuclear reactor in Finland was commissioned in 1962 and the first commercial reactor started operation in 1977. The fifth reactor (Olkiluoto Unit 3) started operation in April 2023.
Finland's nuclear reactors are among the world's most productive, with an average capacity factor of 95% in the 2010s.
Located in Loviisa, on the south coast (Gulf of Finland), the plant comprises two VVER-440 pressurized water reactors built by Soviet Atomenergoexport, but fitted with Western instrumentation, containment structures and control systems. The plant is owned and operated by Fortum. Electrical production started in 1977 and 1980, with the reactors now producing 507 MWe each. On 26 July 2007 new licenses were granted to Fortum to operate the units until 2027 and 2030, conditional on safety reviews before 2015 and 2023.
The Olkiluoto plant is owned by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), and is located in Eurajoki, on the west coast, near Rauma. It has two boiling water reactors currently producing 890 MWe each. They were built by the Swedish company Asea-Atom (nowadays ABB), and went online in 1978 and 1980.
Areva has built a third reactor at the Olkiluoto site for a total cost of price of over €8.5 billion. It is a European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), and has a power output of 1,600 MWe. The reactor was originally scheduled to start production in 2009, but was delayed by 14 years. Regular electricity production started in April 2023.
FiR 1 was a small research reactor located in Otaniemi, Espoo; a TRIGA Mark II, built for the Helsinki University of Technology in 1962. Owned by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland since 1971, it had a power output of 250 kW. It was mainly used in boron neutron capture therapy and research. The reactor was permanently shut down on 30 June 2015. In 2021, the spent fuel was transported to the United States Geological Survey, which will use the fuel in its research reactor in Denver. The Council of State granted a decommissioning license in June 2021. The decommissioning work ended in April 2024. The decommissioned nuclear site (reactor building) was released to unrestricted use as a "greenfield" site.
Under the Nuclear Energy Act 1987 the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (Finnish: Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, TEM) is responsible for supervision of nuclear power operation and for waste disposal.
The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Finnish: Säteilyturvakeskus, STUK) is responsible for regulation and inspection. It operates under the Council of State (effectively the government), which licenses major nuclear facilities. STUK is under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and is assisted by an Advisory Committee on Nuclear Safety in major matters.
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Nuclear power in Finland
As of 2024, Finland has five operating nuclear reactors in two power plants, all located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Nuclear power provided about 35% of the country's electricity generation in 2022. The first research nuclear reactor in Finland was commissioned in 1962 and the first commercial reactor started operation in 1977. The fifth reactor (Olkiluoto Unit 3) started operation in April 2023.
Finland's nuclear reactors are among the world's most productive, with an average capacity factor of 95% in the 2010s.
Located in Loviisa, on the south coast (Gulf of Finland), the plant comprises two VVER-440 pressurized water reactors built by Soviet Atomenergoexport, but fitted with Western instrumentation, containment structures and control systems. The plant is owned and operated by Fortum. Electrical production started in 1977 and 1980, with the reactors now producing 507 MWe each. On 26 July 2007 new licenses were granted to Fortum to operate the units until 2027 and 2030, conditional on safety reviews before 2015 and 2023.
The Olkiluoto plant is owned by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), and is located in Eurajoki, on the west coast, near Rauma. It has two boiling water reactors currently producing 890 MWe each. They were built by the Swedish company Asea-Atom (nowadays ABB), and went online in 1978 and 1980.
Areva has built a third reactor at the Olkiluoto site for a total cost of price of over €8.5 billion. It is a European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), and has a power output of 1,600 MWe. The reactor was originally scheduled to start production in 2009, but was delayed by 14 years. Regular electricity production started in April 2023.
FiR 1 was a small research reactor located in Otaniemi, Espoo; a TRIGA Mark II, built for the Helsinki University of Technology in 1962. Owned by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland since 1971, it had a power output of 250 kW. It was mainly used in boron neutron capture therapy and research. The reactor was permanently shut down on 30 June 2015. In 2021, the spent fuel was transported to the United States Geological Survey, which will use the fuel in its research reactor in Denver. The Council of State granted a decommissioning license in June 2021. The decommissioning work ended in April 2024. The decommissioned nuclear site (reactor building) was released to unrestricted use as a "greenfield" site.
Under the Nuclear Energy Act 1987 the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (Finnish: Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, TEM) is responsible for supervision of nuclear power operation and for waste disposal.
The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Finnish: Säteilyturvakeskus, STUK) is responsible for regulation and inspection. It operates under the Council of State (effectively the government), which licenses major nuclear facilities. STUK is under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and is assisted by an Advisory Committee on Nuclear Safety in major matters.