French nuclear construction leader AREVA said that the Okiluoto Unit 3 build in western Finland was on track for Cold Functional Tests for the early summer of 2017 with two recent milestones achieved that help pave the way for reactor start up.
The European Pressurized Reactor project is famous for the delays and cost overruns that have been blamed for a significant portion of AREVA's loses in recent years. However, AREVA said Wednesday that two milestones had been achieved, including the Nuclear Circuit Cleaning process and a Full Scope Simulator testing
Nuclear Circuit Cleaning (NCC) comprises flushing all the plant auxiliary pipes toward the primary circuit and the reactor vessel with demineralized water. This ensures the cleanliness of the reactor primary circuit as well as all the main connected auxiliary systems, AREVA said in a statement, noting that NCC is one of the prerequisites for the Cold Functional Testing, which is planned for next year.
Along with the NCC start, the testing of Full Scope Simulator – the in situ replica of the Main Control Room – has been completed, AREVA said. This allows for the start of simulator training of Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) plant operators. TVO is the Finnish nuclear power company that operates the Olkiluoto plant that supplies the country with about a sixth of its annually generated electricity.
OL3 EPR Project Director Jean-Pierre Mouroux said the recent milestones “enable us to secure our future operational milestones.”
Construction of Olkiluoto 3 on Olkiluoto Island on the Bothnia Gulf coast, began in 2005, as the first EPR reactor under construction. However, it has been plagued by delays. In 2009, contractor Siemens sold its shares of AREVA NP – AREVA's reactor construction company – to AREVA, changing its status from the primary contractor to a subcontractor to AREVA. In September 2014, AREVA announced that the unit was on track for completion in mid-2016. Costs for the project, meanwhile, have jumped from an early estimate of $3.3 billion to $9.3 billion.