Finland's long-delayed Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor went online for the first time on Saturday, the plant's operator said. The EPR reactor, built by the French-led Areva-Siemens consortium on Finland's southwest coast, was started up in December for testing, 12 years behind schedule. Once regular energy production begins, now expected in July 2022, it will supply about 14% of Finland's energy at 1 650 megawatts, it said. The French-developed EPR reactor model was the first nuclear power station to be procured in Europe after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, designed to relaunch nuclear power. In the UK, Hinkley Point in southwest England has pushed back its planned electricity production by half a year to mid-2026.

Source: News 24 March 13, 2022 23:55 UTC