Plan is for unit to be used for district heating
Power utility Helen and the City of Helsinki are launching a project to assess three potential sites for a small modular reactor (MR) in Finland.
Helen said the three sites – all in or around Helsinki – are the Vuosaari and Salmisaari power plant areas and the Norrberget area. Vuosaari and Salmisaari are already being used for energy production operations and are managed by Helen.
Helen announced a nuclear energy programme last year with the aim of building an SMR plant that will strengthen the security of supply in Helsinki and Finland as a whole.
The company said the next step of the programme is to begin an environmental impact assessment procedure for the three potential sites.
The City of Helsinki is also preparing to launch related land use planning processes. Residents will have the opportunity to participate and be heard during both the land use planning process and the environmental impact assessment, Helen said.
A decision on the site will be made “in the coming years” on the basis of the environmental impact assessment and other studies, Helen said. The site will also need to be approved by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Stuk).
“The new Helsinki City Strategy states that we are preparing for the possible placement of a small-scale nuclear production plant in Helsinki,” said the city’s land use director Rikhard Manninen.
“The land use requirements of the project will be assessed thoroughly and in a way that builds trust,” Manninen said.
Helen is considering nuclear plant designs that generate heat or combined electricity and heat, and which can be used for district heating.
District heating systems take energy released as heat from a range of energy sources – in this case a nuclear reactor – and connect it to energy consumers through a system of highly insulated pipes. District heating is the most common heating form in Finland.
Finland has five commercial large-scale nuclear plants – two at Loviisa and three at Olkiluoto.
