Samuele Finetti
RAUMA
They say it’s the most beautiful nuclear power plant in the world here. Thanks to a color, the falu röd, a dark red with the canonical white outlines typical of houses built in the woods of Scandinavia, also chosen to decorate the external walls of the three Olkiluoto reactors. It goes well, they explain, with the white of the snow in winter and with the green of the fir trees in the rest of the year.
But it is not for its aesthetic appearance that this facility on a small island on the Finnish west coast, 250 kilometers from Helsinki, stands out from the rest of the European power plants. Olkiluoto is a global hotspot for nuclear energy because it is the most advanced plant in the world. Its history actually began in the 1970s, when two of Finland’s first four reactors were built here — the other two are located in Loviisa, halfway between the capital and the border with Russia. And four remained until the spring of last year, when the fifth reactor was connected to the electricity grid national. «It was the most important single climate action in Finnish history»Teollisuuden Voima OyjCompany that built the power plant
The “most beautiful power station in the world”
Olkiluoto 3 — so it was baptized — it is the most powerful in Europe: Its electricity production covers 14 percent of Finland’s demand, is enough to heat more than five million apartments and has reduced the country’s electricity imports by 60 percent. Almost 50 percent of the energy consumed in Finland comes from renewable sources and, by law, the country must become by 2035 carbon neutral. It would be the first European Union member state to reach this milestone.
This is why TVO (Teollisuuden Voima Oyj), the company that built it, called it “the most important single climate action in Finnish history”. Juha Poikola, who is manager and responsible for communications at TVO, accompanies us to visit it. As we walk next to the turbine – which rotates inside a sixty meter long metal casing – he explains the concept better: «If we want to slow down climate change we must focus on nuclear power. It is a must. The Finnish example, from this point of view, is one of the best in the world.”
Not that there haven’t been problems. Olkiluoto 3 was a rather troubled story: the project was approved by Parliament in 2002. At the time, the forecast was that the reactor would be operational in 2009 and that it would cost around 3 billion euros. In the end, it began producing energy in 2023 and it cost 11 billion. «There have been difficulties – explains Poikola – but they are secondary to the final objective: having a similar source of clean energy available».
In the “cave” of waste
The visit to the reactor, in any case, is only the first half of the visit. There is another excavation underway, on Olkiluoto Island, that is even more significant. Its name is Onkalo, “cave” in Finnish. Pure Nordic essentiality. Because yes, it’s basically a hole in the ground. Which, however it will be the grave of Finnish nuclear waste produced in the next century. They will be buried 450 meters deep, under rock layers one billion and 900 million years old, distributed in holes among a hundred tunnels 300 meters long each. Five have been completed so far.
The tunnels already dug (in red) and the project of those still to be dug
To get there you use the fastest elevator in Finland: it takes 66 seconds to descend half a kilometer underground. While we walk through one with two geologists, we notice some metal trapdoors. They are the holes, they explain, where the waste will be lowered, protected by four meter high copper cylinders and bentonite, a special clay. The deposit, the first and (for now) only one in the world, it is expected to become operational by the middle of this decade. All that’s missing is the final government license. Work on Onkalo began in 2004 and will finish in 2120, when it will be sealed. Here they will be safe for a hundred thousand years.
At the top left is the lift that leads into the “cave”, under a trap door and next to it the gallery
Living in the shadow of the reactor
Nobody has any doubts about the safety of this solution. Starting from Pasi Tuohiima, the head of the press office of Posiva, the company that is excavating and financing Onkalo: «In Finland there have been at least ten ice ages. Even if there was another one, well… there would be no more Helsinki, no more London, no more Paris. But our nuclear waste would be safe. Because this place will stay. In short: the nuclear industry is the only industry in the world that can say where its waste will be after the next ice age.”
There’s another dig going on,
more significant.
His name is Onkalo,
“cave”. Will be
the tomb of waste
Finnish nuclear power plants
of the next century
They will be buried
at 450 meters deep,
under layers of rock
and distributed in holes
in a hundred
of long tunnels
300 meters each
The work has begun
in 2004 and they will end
in 2120, when
the deposit will be sealed.
Atomic waste
they will be safe
for a hundred thousand years
The metal trapdoors
they are protected by cylinders
of copper four meters high
and from bentonite,
a special clay
Even those who live closest to Olkiluoto have no doubts. For example a Rauma, 40 thousand souls. Half of the 1,100 employees who work at the plant live here. The historic center, with its colorful wooden houses, is a UNESCO world heritage site. But no one is worried about having three reactors 20 kilometers from home. And TVO is also a sponsor of the local hockey team, which plays in the Finnish Serie A. «People think that Olkiluoto is a “green” plant, which helps reduce the negative aspects of producing energy»Esko Poikelamayor of Rauma
Paradoxically, Mayor Esko Poikela tells us, the citizens of Rauma were “happy” even with the delays in the construction of the power plant: «Here they were considered a positive thing because there were many workers, including foreigners. The fact that people came from all over Europe to build the plant brought with it many positive things: it generated even more jobs and business for restaurants and shops. So the citizens thought: the longer it takes, the better.”
In general, the Finnish population is in favor of nuclear power. According to the latest polls, approval is close to 70 percentan all-time high, while only 6 percent have a negative opinion of it.
Even the Green Party supports the construction of new power plants, the mayor reveals: «We are a green country, made of forests. And we need energy. Sure, there is wind power, there are hydroelectric plants, but what impact do they have on the landscape? Certainly greater than that of a nuclear power plant. Because of this people think that Olkiluoto is a “green” plantwhich helps reduce the negative aspects of producing energy.”
Details of the houses in Rauma, below on the left the shirt of the local hockey team sponsored by TVo
Finnish «pragmatism».
Wille Rydman, Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, chooses another word for popular support: pragmatism. Rydman welcomes us into his study at the ministry, in the historic center of Helsinki, and points us to the window. Outside you can see, less than 300 meters away, the Dormition Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe. It is the symbol ofancient bond between Finland and Russia. An economic bond too, which was broken after February 24, 2022. Before that day, Finland imported oil, natural gas, wood and fuel for nuclear power plants from Russia. «It was fortunate that the reactor was completed when the war in Ukraine began. For us it is an important element to be independent from Moscow”Wille RydmanMinister of Economic Affairs
But Helsinki reacted extremely quickly, cutting all ties with Moscow, including on the energy front. «We Finns are quite pragmatic people – begins Rydman -. We know the Russians well and it is not good to depend too much on them. It was fortunate for us that the Olkiluoto 3 reactor was completed just as the war in Ukraine began. Nuclear power is an important element to be independent from Moscow’s energy production.”
And no one is worried, especially after Fukushima? «We know well that no energy source is completely problem-free. At the end of the day, the risks of nuclear power are relatively small. For this reason I cannot imagine any scenario in which it would be possible for us to give it up.”
Helmets and safety vests for visitors to the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant
There is no talk of new power plants for now. In reality, preparatory work had already begun to build a sixth reactor in Hanhikivi, 600 kilometers north of Helsinki. But they were blocked in mid-2022, because the Russian Rosatom was also included in the consortium of companies. However, Finland is preparing for the future. «Now the priority is the fuel for the power plants. A contract has been signed with the American Westinghouse, which will be the new supplier”Kai Mykkänenenvironment Minister
How, the Minister of Climate and Environment Kai Mykkänen explains to us: «Now the priority is the fuel of the power plants. The two Loviisa reactors are still fueled by reserves of Russian fuel, but they will soon run out. In November 2022, a contract was signed with the US Westinghouse, which will be the new supplier. In the meantime, we have started excavating a uranium minein order to become more independent from this aspect too.”
Making predictions about new power plants is difficult, especially for a minister, because the institutions only have the task of approving: projects, financing, works and management are all the responsibility of private companies. One thing, however, Mykkänen can say: «The Finnish government is ready to support further investments in the nuclear sector».
