Finland Raises Eyebrows with New Nuclear Reactor

Finland is alone among European countries in building a new nuclear reactor — the world’s most powerful. Almost no one in Finland is opposed to nuclear power, and both risks and economic objections are suppressed to the chagrin of other European countries. Will Finland become Europe’s “nuclear park” as critics contend?

..A massive new nuclear reactor is being constructed next to the plants. The 19 hectare (47 acres) construction site, as seen from the distant reed-covered shoreline, is marked by a giant crane. Olkiluoto 3, a new breed of pressurized water reactor being built by a German-French consortium and costing around three billion euros, is the most expensive industrial project in Finnish history. The 1,600-megawatt plant, the world’s most powerful, will go on line in 2009.

Der Spiegel English Site