Rosatom In Front for Finnish Nuclear Contract

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Russia's Rosatom (Moscow, Russia) has emerged as the lead contender to build Finland's next nuclear power station.

Finland's key energy utility Fennovoima Oy (Helsinki, Finland) has indicated that a supply contract for the Hanhikivi 1(HA1) project will be signed with Rosatom by the end of the year.

The news comes less than six months after Fennovoima entered into direct negotiations with Rosatom. At the time, it had also just started negotiations with Japan's Toshiba Corporation (TYO:6502) (Tokyo, Japan). For additional information, see August 21, 2013, article - New Options for Finnish Nuclear Project.

Fennovoima's 60 Finnish owners will have to decide by the end of October whether or not they plan to move ahead with the proposed project. The companies will also sign-off on the detailed project schedule, financing arrangements, and Rosatom's 34% ownership. Rosatom is proposing to use its AES-2006 reactor, the latest evolution of its VVER plant designs. Hanhikivi will have a generating capacity of 1,200-megawatts (MW) and the goal is to commission the plant in 2024.

The project was rocked last year when 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.

Earlier this month, Fennovoima submitted its environmental impact assessment (EIA) plan to Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy. The EIA will assess the environmental impact during the construction and operation of the plant.

Rosatom has just completed setting up a dedicated presence in Finland.

"Russia and Finland have been in mutually beneficial cooperation in the nuclear industry for several decades," commented Kirill Komarov, Deputy Director General, International Business and Development, Rosatom. "The Russia-designed Loviisa NPP has been operating in Finland for 36 years demonstrating one of the best performance and safety records in Europe. Now the cooperation with Finland assumes special significance for us, given the plans for a joint project with Fennovoima."

In early 2012, Fennovoima accepted bids from Toshiba and rival Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) for the Hanhikivi 1(HA1) project. For additional information, see February 6, 2012, article - Final Bids Received for New Finnish Nuclear Plant .

View Project Report - 79900076

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.