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Released September 05, 2014 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Finland's latest nuclear power project has run into even more trouble following an announcement by contractor consortium Areva-Siemens that it will not be operational until 2018.
The updated schedule from French engineering company Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) stated that construction at Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) will finish in 2016, followed by commissioning in the same year, but it will not be fully operational until 2018--13 years after construction started on the troubled project, and nine years later the original start-up deadline of 2009.
OL3 will be Finland's fifth nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 1,600-megawatt (MW). It was meant to be the showcase for the world's first European pressurized reactor (EPR), designed by Areva. The cost has also rocketed from an original delivery price of about 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to 8.5 billion euros ($11.2 billion).
"The principal driver of recent delays to the project has been the reactor instrumentation & control (I&C) system approval," Areva said. "After a four-year period of exchanges with TVO [Finnish nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (Eurajoki, Finland), which owns the plant] the I&C architecture was finally approved in April 2014, giving the consortium a key visibility element to schedule the completion of the project. From a financial standpoint, this updated schedule has no impact by itself on the Olkiluoto 3 contract's loss at completion for Areva, which stood at 3.9 billion as of 30 June 2014. Areva will update the contract's margin at completion, as done periodically at each closing, for the 2014 full year results."
TVO said it was unhappy with the delays but would continue to support the suppliers.
"We have now received data about this review, which is still [a] work-in-progress. However, it is hard for us to accept such a late start-up forecast given by the Supplier because the completion degree is high, the completed works fulfill very high technical standards and we know what the remaining works are," said Jouni Silvennoinen, SVP OL3 Project, from TVO. "We will now evaluate the received data."
In February last year, TVO announced that Olkiluoto 3 had run into more significant delays, with its start-up date pushed back to 2016 -- seven years later than originally planned. For additional information, see February 28, 2013, article--Finland's Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Project Delayed.
In late 2013, the project hit an important milestone with the installation of the massive 170-ton reactor vessel head. Areva said it was the first EPR with a fully equipped reactor vessel, which was ready to accommodate a "core" of fuel assemblies. For additional information, see November 1, 2013, article--Milestone for Finnish Nuclear Plant.
View Project Report - 79900041
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The updated schedule from French engineering company Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) stated that construction at Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) will finish in 2016, followed by commissioning in the same year, but it will not be fully operational until 2018--13 years after construction started on the troubled project, and nine years later the original start-up deadline of 2009.
OL3 will be Finland's fifth nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 1,600-megawatt (MW). It was meant to be the showcase for the world's first European pressurized reactor (EPR), designed by Areva. The cost has also rocketed from an original delivery price of about 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to 8.5 billion euros ($11.2 billion).
"The principal driver of recent delays to the project has been the reactor instrumentation & control (I&C) system approval," Areva said. "After a four-year period of exchanges with TVO [Finnish nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (Eurajoki, Finland), which owns the plant] the I&C architecture was finally approved in April 2014, giving the consortium a key visibility element to schedule the completion of the project. From a financial standpoint, this updated schedule has no impact by itself on the Olkiluoto 3 contract's loss at completion for Areva, which stood at 3.9 billion as of 30 June 2014. Areva will update the contract's margin at completion, as done periodically at each closing, for the 2014 full year results."
TVO said it was unhappy with the delays but would continue to support the suppliers.
"We have now received data about this review, which is still [a] work-in-progress. However, it is hard for us to accept such a late start-up forecast given by the Supplier because the completion degree is high, the completed works fulfill very high technical standards and we know what the remaining works are," said Jouni Silvennoinen, SVP OL3 Project, from TVO. "We will now evaluate the received data."
In February last year, TVO announced that Olkiluoto 3 had run into more significant delays, with its start-up date pushed back to 2016 -- seven years later than originally planned. For additional information, see February 28, 2013, article--Finland's Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Project Delayed.
In late 2013, the project hit an important milestone with the installation of the massive 170-ton reactor vessel head. Areva said it was the first EPR with a fully equipped reactor vessel, which was ready to accommodate a "core" of fuel assemblies. For additional information, see November 1, 2013, article--Milestone for Finnish Nuclear Plant.
View Project Report - 79900041
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
