Russia Buys into Finland's Nuclear Future

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Russian state nuclear company, Rosatom (Moscow), has bought a 34% stake in Finland's newest nuclear power project for an undisclosed sum.

The company has taken a 34% stake in the company developing the project, Fennovoima Oy (Helsinki, Finland). Voimaosakeyhtiö SF, which is comprised of around 60 Finnish energy and industrial companies, said that it will retain control the remaining 66% share in Fennovoima.

In February, Fennovoima submitted a revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the power plant, concluding that the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Hanhikivi-1 project at Pyhäjoki is "feasible." Rosatom is proposing to use its AES-2006 reactor, the latest generation of its VVER plant designs. The project has an estimated value of up to €6 billion ($8.2 billion). For additional information, see February 21 2013, article - Finland's New Nuclear Project Advances.

The deal marks an important step in Rosatom gaining a stronger presence in the European nuclear power sector. Last year, Rosatom expressed its desire to enter the U.K. nuclear sector, which is planning the most ambitious series of new nuclear builds in Europe. It has plans to submit its VVER pressurised water reactors for assessment by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency. For additional information, see September 11, 2013, article - Rosatom Targets U.K. Nuclear Sector.

However, the U.K.'s Department of Climate and Energy Change (DECC) has confirmed that the nuclear cooperation agreement, signed with Rosatom last September, is "under consideration" following Russia's military takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region in recent weeks.

The Hanhikivi-1 project has gone through a number of ownership changes and setbacks since it was first proposed in 2006. In 2012, Germany's E.ON AG (PINK:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany) announced its plan to exit the Finnish nuclear market by selling its 34% share in Fennovoima. For additional information, see November 7, 2012, article - E.ON Exiting Finnish Nuclear Market.

Russia has history in the Finnish nuclear sector. The Loviisa nuclear power plant (NPP) near the Finnish city of Loviisa houses two Soviet-designed VVER-440/213 PWR reactors, each with a capacity of 510 MW. They were commissioned in 1977 and 1980, respectively. Operated by Fortum Oyj (HEL:FUM1V) (Espoo, Finland), the licences for Loviisa-1 has been extended to 2027 and Loviisa-2 to 2030.

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