After 18 years, Finland has commissioned Europe's largest nuclear reactor
Finland on Sunday commissioned the Olkiluoto (OL) 3 nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, which took no less than 18 years to build, increasing energy security in a region where Russia has halted gas and electricity supplies, Reuters reports, cited by News.ro.
Nuclear power remains controversial in Europe, primarily because of safety concerns, and news of the OL3 launch comes as Germany on Saturday shut down its last three remaining reactors, while Sweden, France, Britain and other countries plan new nuclear power projects.
Operator OL3, which is owned by Finnish company Fortum and a consortium of energy and industrial companies, said the unit is expected to meet about 14% of Finland's electricity demand, reducing the need for imports from Sweden and Norway.
Following the launch, analysts said Finland, the only Nordic country with a large energy deficit, can expect lower electricity costs.
Russia's energy exports to Finland were halted in May last year, and shortly afterwards Russia's Gazprom group stopped natural gas deliveries to Finland.
