Desertion Threatens Finnish Nuclear Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The latest nuclear power project in Finland has been hit by the loss of a key Finnish investor.

Finnish retailer Kesko Oyj (Helsinki), which held up to 2% in the proposed Hanhikivi 1 project, has won its action in the country's Court of Arbitration to leave the project. The decision opens the door for other minority Finnish investors to leave. Kesko had been fighting to leave the project since 2014, but developer Fennovoima Oy (Helsinki, Finland) claimed the company had committed to additional investment. The court dismissed the claim.

"This is the end of the case," said Kesko spokesman Lauri Peltola. "We are happy with the decision."

According to the Finnish government, the project can only go ahead if more than 60% of the project is owned by Finnish companies. In 2015, Industrial Info reported that the project had recieved a welcome boost when three Finnish companies--Fortum Oyj (HEL:FUM1V) (Espoo, Finland), SRV (Espoo) and Outokumpu Oyj (HEL:OUT1V) (Espoo)--took, or increased, their shares in the Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant (NPP). Fortum, SRV and Outokumpu controlled shares in equal to 6.6%, 1.8% and 14.1%, respectively. At the time, it took Finnish ownership of the project to just more than 65%. For additional information, see August 18, 2015, article--Finnish Nuclear Plant Clears Final Hurdle.

Construction was expected to start back in 2010, but the controversial project has been mired in delays. The project is valued at up to 6 billion euro ($6.4 billion). Hanhikivi will have a generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) and the goal is to commission the plant in 2024.

Finnish dairy Valio, with a 1.4% stake, has previously announced plans to leave the project.

Russia's Rosatom (Moscow, Russia) beat Japan's Toshiba Corporation (TYO:6502) (Tokyo, Japan) as the lead contender to build the plant, and it intends to use the AES-2006 reactor, the latest generation of its VVER plant designs. The company holds a 34% stake in the project, which it took on a year after the original investor, Germany's E.ON AG (PINK:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), announced its plan to exit the Finnish nuclear market by selling its 34% share in the Hanhikivi 1 project. For additional information, see November 7, 2012, article - E.ON Exiting Finnish Nuclear Market.

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