Commissioning tests are progressing well at Olkiluoto 3, with grid connection now expected to take place on 15 March, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has said.

Finnish utility Fortum announced it will apply to renew the operating licences for both units 1 and 2 of the Loviisa nuclear power plant until the end of 2050.

The Finnish government and nuclear regulator have published a comprehensive plan and an environmental impact assessment for the management of all the used fuel and radioactive waste generated in the country.

Fennovoima says that the "Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the counter measures by EU and western countries as a consequence" pose a "major risk" to the future of the nuclear power plant project.

The connection of unit 3 at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in western Finland to the national grid has been delayed due to an unplanned automatic trip during commissioning tests, operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced.

The general criteria for Lithuania to dispose of its used nuclear fuel will be studied by Posiva Solutions, a subsidiary of the company that is doing the job on behalf of Finland's utilities.

Licensing work for the planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland has progressed "to the homestretch", with the final licensing materials expected to be submitted to the nuclear regulator over the next couple of months, Fennovoima has said.

Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva Oy has submitted its application for an operating licence for the used fuel encapsulation plant and final disposal facility currently under construction at Olkiluoto. The repository - the first in the world for used fuel - is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s.

Finland's fifth nuclear reactor, Olkiluoto 3, has reached first criticality. The EPR is the first new nuclear unit to be commissioned in Finland in over 40 years, and will eventually produce some 14% of the country's electricity.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has today received permission from the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority to bring the Olkiluoto 3 EPR to first criticality and conduct low-power tests. The unit is expected to begin generating electricity at the end of January, with regular electricity production starting in June 2022.

Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment announced it is launching legislative preparations aimed at a comprehensive reform of the country's Nuclear Energy Act. It said the future use of nuclear energy - including new technologies such as small modular reactors - requires "appropriate and up-to-date legislation."

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has today applied to Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority for permission to bring the Olkiluoto 3 EPR to first criticality and conduct low-power tests. The Finnish utility noted the start up of the unit may be brought forward from the previously announced date of January 2022.