Olkiluoto, Special Envoy - A swarm of workmen busy 4000 on site OL3, the third reactor at the Olkiluoto, 300 kilometers northwest of Helsinki, on a peninsula in the Sea Baltic. The roof of the plant is surrounded by cranes. The site focuses there. It should be finished this summer. Two huge buildings surround the reactor.
In each, there are three diesel generators, two that start automatically in case of problems, and one that is activated manually. And yet this is an alternative power supply among others for the EPR, built in pain by the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens, and accumulating four years late.
But on security, "no compromise is tolerated" by the Finns. In any case the message Jarmo Tanhu, CEO of TVO, the Finnish utility owner of the Olkiluoto. Finland is a nuclear country that seems scarcely touched by the drama unfolding in Fukushima, Japan. The opinion conceded the shock. 48% of Finns are for the expansion of nuclear power, 48% cons.
A year ago, the gap was ten points in favor of supporters of nuclear power (53% -43%). WordDocument> Normal 0 21 false IgnoreMixedContent> false false BreakWrappedTables /> ToGridInCell /> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The country votes Sunday, April 17 to elect its members. And apart from the Greens, political parties have little reaction.
The parliament decided on July 1, giving the green light to build two new plants, one of which, OL4, will be on the Olkiluoto site. Nobody has given this decision in question, not even the populist True Finns, however, quick to seize every opportunity to stand out from the rest of the political class.
In a few weeks, OL2 reactor, commissioned in 1982, will be closed for twenty-seven days, an unusually long duration. 1500 workers and engineers will complement the 4000 engaged OL2 OL3 to upgrade, change its low-pressure turbine and make him earn 20 megawatts of power. Since 1982, OL2 has won nearly 30% capacity.
According to Jarmo Tanhu: "In Finland we do not think we could close Olkiluoto. For us, Central still has a lifespan of forty years before it. OL2 When the reactor will be modernized, it will, according to our criteria Security, a new life of forty years. It is a way of thinking. " The same operation was performed last year in OL1, commissioned in 1979.
The cost of this upgrade for the two reactors was $ 160 million. "To date, we see no boundaries for our reactors, as we control and modernizing the way we do," he says. After the accident in Fukushima, the Finnish government has sought to TVO to a new risk assessment. "From our point of view, no urgent action need be taken," said Jarmo Tanhu.
After the winter of 2005 which saw a sharp rise in the water of the Baltic Sea, the Minister of Economy TVO had requested a reassessment of risk exposure. "The level was then raised by 1.2 meters. Our security level is such that we can cope with a rise of 3.5 meters above sea level In addition, the Baltic Sea is a little Depth: 55 meters on average against over 4000 meters in the Pacific Ocean.
The risk of a tsunami does not exist and the geology of the region is extremely stable, "says Jarmo Tanhu. The reactors at Olkiluoto 1 and 2 are the same as those of the Swedish Forsmark plant, with which the Finns have therefore a privileged partnership. Yet in this same Forsmark a disaster was narrowly averted in 2006 after an electrical short that was particularly highlighted shortcomings in the emergency system of a reactor .
Following an internal investigation carried out by the Swedish Vattenfall company public, the executive director of the plant had been returned in 2007. According to the report, the incident at the Forsmark plant was "the culmination of a long deterioration in the safety culture of the company." At Olkiluoto, Jarmo Tanhu is visibly embarrassed to talk about his Swedish colleagues who, though they too swear by the safety official.
For the CEO of TVO, the situation is different. The reason is quite simple: in Sweden, the procrastination of the political parties have created uncertainty for manufacturers who want a clear line to calmly plan their investments. "Forsmark had problems with its modernization program, says Jarmo Tanhu.
We are fortunate in Finland that nuclear power has always been accepted. The political uncertainty is not good in an industry like nuclear power" . Olivier Truc 
In each, there are three diesel generators, two that start automatically in case of problems, and one that is activated manually. And yet this is an alternative power supply among others for the EPR, built in pain by the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens, and accumulating four years late.
But on security, "no compromise is tolerated" by the Finns. In any case the message Jarmo Tanhu, CEO of TVO, the Finnish utility owner of the Olkiluoto. Finland is a nuclear country that seems scarcely touched by the drama unfolding in Fukushima, Japan. The opinion conceded the shock. 48% of Finns are for the expansion of nuclear power, 48% cons.
A year ago, the gap was ten points in favor of supporters of nuclear power (53% -43%). WordDocument> Normal 0 21 false IgnoreMixedContent> false false BreakWrappedTables /> ToGridInCell /> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The country votes Sunday, April 17 to elect its members. And apart from the Greens, political parties have little reaction.
The parliament decided on July 1, giving the green light to build two new plants, one of which, OL4, will be on the Olkiluoto site. Nobody has given this decision in question, not even the populist True Finns, however, quick to seize every opportunity to stand out from the rest of the political class.
In a few weeks, OL2 reactor, commissioned in 1982, will be closed for twenty-seven days, an unusually long duration. 1500 workers and engineers will complement the 4000 engaged OL2 OL3 to upgrade, change its low-pressure turbine and make him earn 20 megawatts of power. Since 1982, OL2 has won nearly 30% capacity.
According to Jarmo Tanhu: "In Finland we do not think we could close Olkiluoto. For us, Central still has a lifespan of forty years before it. OL2 When the reactor will be modernized, it will, according to our criteria Security, a new life of forty years. It is a way of thinking. " The same operation was performed last year in OL1, commissioned in 1979.
The cost of this upgrade for the two reactors was $ 160 million. "To date, we see no boundaries for our reactors, as we control and modernizing the way we do," he says. After the accident in Fukushima, the Finnish government has sought to TVO to a new risk assessment. "From our point of view, no urgent action need be taken," said Jarmo Tanhu.
After the winter of 2005 which saw a sharp rise in the water of the Baltic Sea, the Minister of Economy TVO had requested a reassessment of risk exposure. "The level was then raised by 1.2 meters. Our security level is such that we can cope with a rise of 3.5 meters above sea level In addition, the Baltic Sea is a little Depth: 55 meters on average against over 4000 meters in the Pacific Ocean.
The risk of a tsunami does not exist and the geology of the region is extremely stable, "says Jarmo Tanhu. The reactors at Olkiluoto 1 and 2 are the same as those of the Swedish Forsmark plant, with which the Finns have therefore a privileged partnership. Yet in this same Forsmark a disaster was narrowly averted in 2006 after an electrical short that was particularly highlighted shortcomings in the emergency system of a reactor .
Following an internal investigation carried out by the Swedish Vattenfall company public, the executive director of the plant had been returned in 2007. According to the report, the incident at the Forsmark plant was "the culmination of a long deterioration in the safety culture of the company." At Olkiluoto, Jarmo Tanhu is visibly embarrassed to talk about his Swedish colleagues who, though they too swear by the safety official.
For the CEO of TVO, the situation is different. The reason is quite simple: in Sweden, the procrastination of the political parties have created uncertainty for manufacturers who want a clear line to calmly plan their investments. "Forsmark had problems with its modernization program, says Jarmo Tanhu.
We are fortunate in Finland that nuclear power has always been accepted. The political uncertainty is not good in an industry like nuclear power" . Olivier Truc
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