Safety First at Finnish Nuclear Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The owner of Finland's largest nuclear plant has awarded a contract to Wartsila Corporation (OTC:WRTDF) (Helsinki, Finland) for the supply of emergency diesel generators as part of a wide ranging overhaul of safety procedures at the power plant.

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) has ordered nine Wartsila 32 engines running on light fuel oil which will be installed at the Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 units. It is the largest individual plant modification project ever undertaken at Olkiluoto, which has a generating capacity of 1,720-megawatts (MW). Wartsila will supply the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the process equipment as well as all the necessary auxiliary equipment for the plant. The diesel generators will act as emergency back-up to secure power supply for the nuclear plant. Wartsila will start delivering the equipment in phases from 2016.

"The Olkiluoto nuclear power plant units are undergoing modernisation according to the principle of continuous improvement," explained Sami Jakonen, senior vice president of engineering at TVO. "The replacement of the diesel generators, which automatically secure the electricity supply in the case of a potential, albeit improbable loss of power supply, is part of the ongoing major modernisation project. The total investment cost of the replacement project is more than €100 million."

Today, there are a total of eight diesel generators in place, four at each unit, which have been in place for more than 30 years since the reactors were commissioned. TVO claimed that "no problems have been encountered with the operation of the existing generators" but that the time was right to replace them. The new generators will improve the cooling of the diesel drives, as they incorporate radiator cooling technology, in addition to seawater cooling.

The ninth generator ordered by TVO is designed to allow for the "seamless" replacement of the old generators. It will act as a substitute for each diesel generator during the replacement process, and later as emergency power capacity.

Vesa Riihimaki, president of Wartsila Power Plants, noted: "This is a significant order for Wartsila. The emergency generating capacity that Wartsila is supplying will be used in case the electricity supply from external grids and the plant's main generator has ceased. The critical requirement is for fast starting capability with sufficient power and excellent reliability, in accordance with the stringent standards and regulations for emergency generating sets."

TVO is also overseeing the troubled build of Olkiluoto 3, which will be Finland's fifth nuclear reactor. In February, TVO announced that the start date at the new Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) unit may be postponed until 2016 - seven years later than originally planned. It is the latest in a long line of revised timetables and disputes with its suppliers, Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) and Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany). For additional information, see February 28, 2013, article - Finland's Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Project Delayed.

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