Finland

Finnish utility plans job cuts following nuclear reactor delay

Thursday, January 8, 2015

HELSINKI Jan 8 (Reuters) - Finnish nuclear power consortium Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) on Thursday said it is looking to cut up to 110 jobs, or 13 percent of its staff, due to lower power prices and soaring costs from its delayed Olkiluoto 3 reactor project.

The start of the reactor, planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, has been delayed until late 2018, almost a decade later than originally planned.

"Electricity market price has dropped and there are no signs of improvement in the coming foreseeable future. In addition, costs related to nuclear power production have increased and the delay of Olkiluoto 3 project has caused remarkable additional costs," TVO chief executive Jarmo Tanhua said in a statement.

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Areva-Siemens raises claim to $4.4 billion over Finnish reactor delays

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

(Reuters) - The French-German consortium Areva-Siemens, the supplier of Finland's much-delayed Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor, has increased its claim against Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), TVO said late on Friday.

TVO and Areva have traded accusations about who is to blame for delays and extra costs, and the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) arbitration court is processing a dispute on cost overruns between the two sides.

Areva-Siemens in September said the start date of the reactor, which is planned to be Finland's fifth and biggest nuclear unit, will be pushed back to late 2018 - almost a decade later than originally planned.

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Finland under more pressure over Russian N-plant plan

Monday, September 29, 2014

Finland’s government has come under renewed pressure over its decision to approve a Russian-built nuclear reactor after legal experts questioned the independence of the economy minister responsible for the plan.

There were claims that technical plans for the plant were based on a flawed and outdated design by Rosatom, the Russian state-owned company that holds a 34 per cent stake in the project.

Olli Rehn, the Finish MEP and former EU economics commissioner, wrote on his blog on Sunday night that the plan for the Fennovoima nuclear plant was “economically uncertain and politically crippled”.

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Finnish government rejects Olkiluoto 4 nuclear permit extension

Friday, September 26, 2014

HELSINKI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Finland's government has rejected an application from utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) to extend a permit for a new nuclear reactor in the west of the country, Economy Minister Jan Vapaavuori told reporters on Thursday.

TVO had requested a five-year extension to the Olkiluoto 4 reactor project because it was dealing with delays and overruns at its predecessor, Olkiluoto 3.

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Olkiluoto 3 to be ready in 2018

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Areva bickered at one another on Monday over an updated schedule for the completion of construction and start-up of a third unit at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Eurajoki, Satakunta.

Areva on Monday revealed that it expects to complete construction on the site in 2016 but reminded that commissioning the new unit will require an additional two years. As a result, the third unit is not expected to generate electricity to the national grid until the end of 2018.

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Westinghouse urges EU to break dependency on Russian nuclear fuel

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Westinghouse, the Japanese-US atomic group, is pressing the EU to introduce competition rules that will break eastern Europe’s dependence on Russian nuclear fuel.

While the crisis in Ukraine has focused attention on Europe’s vulnerability to a cut in supplies of gas from Russia, Westinghouse argues that Brussels must also respond to similar security risks posed by Moscow’s control of nuclear fuel in the eastern EU.

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Finland's TVO postpones next nuclear plant

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

HELSINKI May 20 (Reuters) - Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima on Tuesday asked for a five-year extension to submit a construction license application for Olkiluoto 4 nuclear unit.

The consortium was due to apply for the Olkiluoto 4 construction license by 2015, but problems at its current plant project make decision-making regarding the following project impossible by that, it said.

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Vapaavuori expects decision on Fennovoima nuclear plant in August

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Economic Affairs Minister Jan Vapaavuori says government isn’t likely to make a decision on the construction of a nuclear power plant by the power consortium Fennovoima before August. Vapaavuori told Yle that the project is still important to the main government partner the National Coalition Party.

Speaking on Yle’s Aamu-tv breakfast programme Tuesday Vapaavuori confirmed that the government wouldn’t be making a decision on the proposed nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, northwest Finland until August.

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Finland's Kesko drops out of Fennovoima nuclear project

Thursday, March 27, 2014

(Reuters) - Finnish retailer Kesko on Thursday said it would drop out of the Fennovoima consortium and its planned 4-6 billion euro nuclear reactor, citing increased risks in the project.

Following Kesko's exit, Fennovoima's Finnish ownership could drop below the required 50 percent of shares, complicating the project.

Russia's state-owned Rosatom, which is due to supply the reactor, has taken a 34-percent stake in the project, and Fennovoima's Finnish owners, including 43 companies, have been looking for new Finnish investors.

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Finnish nuclear plant delayed again as Areva, TVO bicker

Monday, March 3, 2014

HELSINKI/PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Finland's TVO was unable on Friday to estimate a start date for its long-delayed Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor as the utility and French supplier Areva, already battling in court, blamed each other for the latest delays.

Finnish daily Kauppalehti cited sources from the site saying the startup of the reactor could be delayed until at least 2018 as work had slowed.

Early last year, Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said the start might be delayed until 2016. Construction of the Areva-designed EPR reactor began in 2005 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2009.

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