Finnish Nuclear Project In Trouble

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The future of Finland's latest nuclear power project at the Olkiluoto power plant has been thrown into doubt after the government refused a construction permit extension for the project.

Economy Minister Jan Vapaavuori has blocked an application from Finnish nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) (Eurajoki, Finland) to extend the construction permit for the proposed Olkiluoto 4 (OL4) project, citing uncertainties over the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) nuclear project which is still in trouble and will open nine years later than originally planned. Instead, the Minister is recommending that the government support a rival nuclear power project, the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Hanhikivi-1 project at Pyhäjoki in western Finland, being advanced by Fennovoima Oy (Helsinki, Finland).

"I will propose to the Government that TVO's application for an extension of the existing decision-in-principle should be rejected," Vapaavuori stated. "Owing to uncertainties connected with the OL3 project it is not possible to reliably evaluate if TVO would be able to proceed with the project all the way through the investment and submission of the construction license even under a new deadline."

He added: "The existing decision-in-principle has a significant impact on the workings of the electricity market and on competition in the field. Good governance requires that players in the field must be treated even-handedly and that the licensing process should be predictable. It is inconceivable to give one player in the field the possession of a decision-in-principle, if significant uncertainties are connected with both the realisation of the project and its timetable."

Regarding the Fennovoima-led Hanhikivi-1 project, he said: "I will propose to the Government that the application by Fennovoima to supplement the decision-in-principle should be approved, with one precondition for the construction permit: at least 60% of the shares must be in Finnish ownership. If the Parliament approves the proposal, the decision will be politically binding for future governments as well".

TVO's Olkiluoto 3 project has suffered many setbacks and cost overruns since construction began in 2009. The contractor, an Areva-Siemens consortium, recently informed TVO that the plant will now not be fully operational until 2018, 13 years after construction started and nine years after it was due to start producing power in 2009. OL3 was meant to be the showcase for the world's first European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), designed by Areva. Instead, the bungled project has cost Areva an extra $4.5 billion. For additional information, see September 5, 2014, article - Finland's New Nuclear Project Delayed.

In response to the government's negative decision regarding OL4, Jarmo Tanhua, President and CEO of TVO commented: "We were expecting a different resolution. The hearing process carried out regarding the application and various favourable statements confirmed the wide support OL4 enjoys from the entire society and the Finnish industry. The nuclear power project is strategically important. The project was once found to serve the overall good for the society, and this has not changed in a few years".

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