Finland currently has four operational nuclear power reactors which together supply about thirty percent of their electricity. They are in the process of building three more nuclear reactors, one for experiments and two for power generation. They hope to up the share of power generated by nuclear energy to about sixty percent.
Areva, the French nuclear reactor manufacturer is building a third reactor at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant where two existing reactors are in operation. The reactor being constructed is the first power reactor based on the new European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). It will have an output of about one thousand six hundred megawatts. An eight hundred megawatt transmission line will be laid underwater to nearby Sweden. Originally, the new reactor was to be operation by 2009. Then it was rescheduled to start sometime after 2015. Now it is hoped that the reactor will be in operation some time in 2018. During this delay, the cost of constructing the reactor has ballooned to over ten billion dollars. One of the repercussions of the cost overrun and delays is the cancellation of an intended fourth reactor project at Olkiluoto. There is a sinking confidence that Areva can deliver the new EPRs on time and on budget in the future.
Rosatom, the Russian nuclear reactor construction company, is building a new nuclear power reactor for Finland at the Hanhikivi site. Fennovoima, the third Finnish nuclear power company, which was founded in 2007, contracted with Rosatom to build the reactor. The new reactor is based on a standard AES-2996 VVER Russian design. It will generate one thousand and two hundred megawatts when completed.
Fennovoima began working on the infrastructure required at the site in January of 2016 and hopes to have the work done by the end of this year. The actual construction of the power reactor has been delayed pending the issuing of a permit for construction from the Finnish government. Fennovoima submitted a two hundred and fifty page plan for the construction to the Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy in 2015. The license application has to be approved by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority which has asked for addition documentation on construction plans.
The CEO of Fennovoima said: "We have reviewed the progress of the work and decided to reschedule our goal to obtain the permit in 2019. Taking Finnish requirements and legislation into consideration in the design work has taken more time from the plant supplier than we originally expected. Since the delivery of documents during the first two years has been slower than expected, Stuk has also been unable to carry out their own assessment work on the scale they planned."
Rosatom set up a Finnish subsidiary named RAOS Voima Oy as part of the project. RAOS Voima Oy holds a thirty four percent ownership position in the Hanhikivi project. The Fennovoima CEO said, with respect to Rosatom’s involvement, "Rosatom has built dozens of nuclear power plants around the world, and it is the most experienced nuclear power plant supplier in the world, so I am confident about the end results. For us, it is a big advantage that Hanhikivi 1's reference power plant, Leningrad II, will be completed in Sosnovy Bor next year. All the latest know-how and experience will be at our disposal during the construction phase."
Finland has ambitious plans for nuclear power expansion but both the Olkiluoto project and the Hanhikivi are behind schedule and over budget. Time will tell if either of them are completed and go into operation.
Artist’s concept of completed Hanhikivi nuclear power plant:
