Someone recently posted on X about Finland's electricity being cheap because of NUCLEAR.
23/05/24 14:57 Filed in: Nuclear
Someone recently posted on X about Finland's electricity being cheap because of NUCLEAR. He shouldn't have. The post left out, conveniently for the NUKE lovers, that the TAXPAYER subsidises the cost - i.e. The taxpayer pays the government to give itself a discount so that the NUKE business can make a profit - Call it creative accounting OR a very dumb public.
Now think what the LIBERALS under #PeterDutton's fantasy will do to YOU.
Anyway, it reminded us of an article about the last NUKE Finland deployed, and it's a familiar story, do read on...
The Saga of Finland's OL3 Reactor: A Comedy of Delays and Cost Overruns (sound familiar?)
Ah, the #Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear reactor, Finland’s very own nuclear soap opera. If you thought nuclear power was a straightforward affair, think again. This behemoth has taken 18 years to finally start regular output, and in true grandiose fashion, it's way over budget and behind schedule. Strap in, folks, because this is a tale of epic delays, astronomical costs, and a sprinkling of technical snafus.
The Timeline of Turbulence
Construction of OL3 began back in 2005, with starry-eyed optimism and a planned completion date in 2009. Fast forward 14 years past that deadline, and the reactor finally began regular output in April 2023*. What was supposed to be a four-year project turned into nearly two decades of nuclear drama. The reactor faced an array of technical issues that would make a Greek tragedy blush. From signal failures to missing seals in temperature measurements, OL3 seemed determined to delay its own debut**.
A Financial Black Hole
Let’s talk money. The initial estimate for OL3’s construction was a cool $3.8 billion. But because the universe loves irony, the final price tag ballooned to around $11 billion ($16.4 billion AUD), almost three times the original estimate**. That’s right, folks, for the price of three reactors, Finland got one, albeit Europe’s largest, but still just one.
Technical Glitches Galore
If you thought the financials were fun, wait until you hear about the technical problems. In November 2023, the reactor was taken offline due to a malfunctioning temperature measurement in the generator’s cooling system. This incident, among others, didn’t impact nuclear safety, but it certainly didn’t help the reactor’s reputation.
And who could forget the cracks found in the feedwater pump impellers? Discovered after the reactor had operated at full capacity for the first time, these cracks caused further delays and sparked extensive inspections. It’s almost as if OL3 was playing hard to get. "The new technology is safe" Dutton said. They said that about #Fukushima also.
Conclusion: A Lesson in Patience and Perseverance
The OL3 saga is a masterclass in patience, perseverance, and the occasional facepalm. Let’s hope the lessons learned from OL3 will help future projects avoid the same pitfalls. For now, we can all sit back, chuckle at the absurdity of it all, and appreciate the fact that OL3 is finally up and running, albeit fashionably late and expensively dressed.
Let's get nuclear eh? haha
Related: The #HinkleyC story: https://hypathetical.com/blogmain_files/hinkley-c-blow-out-of-all-blow-outs.php
Reference:
*https://reuters.com/world/europe/after-18-years-europes-largest-nuclear-reactor-start-regular-output-sunday-2023-04-15/
**https://neimagazine.com/news/finlands-olkiluoto-3-resumes-service-following-another-technical-problem-11323922/