Company is ‘preparing decision-making process’ for two nuclear power plants
Nuclear plant owner and operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) has signed an investment loan agreement for €75m ($85m) with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for the financing of projects that could lead to extended operation for the Olkiluoto-1 and -2 nuclear plants in Finland.
NIB said in a statement that the 10-year loan finances key investments aimed at maintaining and improving safety measures and ensuring the possible extended operational lifetime of the two nuclear units.
NIB is owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
TVO said the investment project, to be implemented during the upcoming years, will include the replacement of the instrumentation and control (I&C) and monitoring systems and the reactor steam separators at both units.
TVO said it is “preparing for the decision-making process” regarding the potential life extensions and increases in thermal power for Olkiluoto-1 and -2.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the project was submitted to Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in December 2024. The ministry concluded that the EIA report meets the requirements laid down in EIA legislation.
Olkiluoto-1 and -2, both 890-MW boiling water reactor units, began commercial operation in 1979 and 1982 respectively. A more recent unit, the 1,575-MW Olkiluoto-3 EPR, began commercial operation in 2023.
Finland has five commercial nuclear units. The other two are owned and operated by Fortum at Loviisa.
According to TVO, the three-unit Olkiluoto station is the most significant producer of electricity in Finland. Last year, Olkiluoto produced about 28% of all electricity consumed in the country.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, Finland’s five units provide about a 42% share of the country’s electricity generation.
In a separate statement on 29 April TVO said Olkiluoto-3 had resumed electricity production after a scheduled annual outage.
TVO said Olkiluoto-3 is the largest nuclear power plant unit in Europe and the amount of equipment and components requiring service is “extremely high”.
The outage included refuelling, a containment leak-tightness test, work on reactor coolant system pumps, and the washing and inspection of steam generators.
