Extended operation of Oskarshamn 3 to be assessed
The owners of the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden have decided to begin a preliminary study on what measures can be taken to extend the operating life of unit 3 from 60 to 80 years.
The boiling water reactor was commissioned in 1985, and its service life and production capacity were increased in 2009. The total power of the plant is about 1450 MWe and the annual production is around 11 TWh. Uniper is the majority owner of Oskarshamn with a 54.5% share, with Fortum holding the remaining 45.5%.
The unit currently has a planned operating period until 2045 but Fortum said: "The owners estimate that the current reactor will be able to produce electricity well into the 2060s."
"The next step is to broaden and deepen the analysis work in order to take into account all the relevant perspectives that an operating time extension would entail," Uniper added.
"It is a very welcome orientation decision," Uniper Sweden CEO Johan Svenningsson said. "This means that Uniper gets a solid basis for a decision to extend the operating time of Oskarshamn 3 to 80 years, in the early 2030s. The existing nuclear power is an important component for a stable and reliable energy system."
Uniper noted: "In addition to safe and reliable operation, market conditions are also required where the importance of nuclear power for the energy system is valued. In addition to energy delivery, it may include support services for system stability."
"Nuclear power is important for Sweden," Svenningsson said. "In addition to delivering large amounts of fossil-free and predictable electricity, nuclear power provides stability and an increased ability to transport electricity from all types of power in the transmission system.
"Nuclear power is also important to Uniper. We ensure the operation of Swedish nuclear power by continuously investing in today's facilities and carefully following the global technological development in the nuclear power field."
As swell as owning a share in the Oskarshamn plant, Germany-based Uniper also owns shares in Sweden's Ringhals, Forsmark and Barsebäck nuclear power plants, as well as in Swedish Nuclear Fuel Handling.
Finland's Fortum made a similar decision together with Vattenfall in June this year to assess the possibility of extending the operating lifetime of the Forsmark plants' two pressurised water reactors from 60 to 80 years.
