Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Stuk) on Friday gave a fuel loading permit for the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear power plant with the 1,600-MW Generation III EPR unit scheduled to start up in October and begin commercial operation in February 2022.
Stuk said it had verified plant operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s (TVO) readiness to begin the fuel loading. TVO’s Olkiuoto-3 project director, Jouni Silvennoinen said the permit was the most significant step in the commissioning of the plant unit so far. He said systems have now been rigorously tested and “we will be able to begin fuel loading soon”.
The fuel arrived in Olkiluoto in 2018. During the fuel loading, 241 fuel assemblies, comprising about 128 tonnes of uranium, will be transferred from storage into the reactor’s pressure vessel.
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