Finland’s plans to build the world’s first next-generation pressurised water reactor has hit a rough patch as the initial estimated price tag has now doubled to nearly 4.5 billion euro. Areva, the French nuclear construction company building the power plant, announced that the final costs for the reactor will be 50 percent higher than originally estimated, according to Les Echos, a business newspaper.
Finland
Splitting the atom costs double in Finland
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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Finland should grant nuclear power permits to all three -Lilius
Tuesday, September 9, 2008Mikael Lilius, the chief executive of Finnish utility Fortum, was quoted as saying by Energia, an industry publication, on Monday that the Finland should grant a permit to build a nuclear power station to all three hopefuls.
"I cannot understand why one should start regulating who can build and who cannot when we have three willing builders," Mr Lilius told Energia, referring to Fennovoima, Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima.
Finnish builders' union postpones nuclear site strike
Tuesday, September 9, 2008The Finnish Construction Trade Union on Monday postponed the start of a strike affecting Teollisuuden Voima's Olkiluoto nuclear power station site by a week to 17 September.
The union added that Rimec, a Cyprus-registered subcontractor at the site, had until 16 September to come up with an explanation of suspected wage and occupational healthcare irregularities.
Government promises to secure sufficient electricity for industry
Thursday, September 4, 2008Sixth nuclear installation possible
Government promises to secure sufficient electricity for industry
The government hopes to make sure in its new energy and climate strategy that Finnish industry will get the electricity it needs.
Helsingin Sanomat has learned that a ministerial working group estimates that the need for electricity in 2020 will be about 103 terawatt hours (TWh). After that year, demand for electricity is expected to decline slowly.
The estimate means that in addition to the fifth Finnish nuclear reactor currently being built in Olkiluoto, only one more such installation would be built in Finland.
Areva applies to seek uranium in northern Finland
Monday, September 1, 2008HELSINKI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - France's Areva submitted a claim to the Finnish government on Monday to search for uranium in northern Finland, the company said.
Areva Resources Finland said in a statement the exclusive, 5-year exploration claim was for a 108 sq km (41.7 square miles) parcel of land lying mostly in the municipality of Ranua in Lapland, 750 km north of Helsinki.
Finnish Nuclear Agency Finds Some Flaws in Olkiluoto Safety
Friday, August 29, 2008Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority said today the supervision and ''safety culture'' of welding at the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear plant did not meet all of its standards and must be improved.
The agency, known as STUK, demanded changes after inspecting the site and interviewing workers this week, according to a statement posted on its Web site. The regulator said it found no quality problems that threaten the durability of the welds.
Areva faces 50 pct cost rise for Finnish nuclear reactor: report
Thursday, August 28, 2008PARIS (AFP) — French nuclear group Areva is facing a 50 percent rise to the cost of building the world's first next-generation pressurised water reactor in Finland, the business daily Les Echos reported Thursday.
The cost of constructing the plant at Olkiluoto has risen from three billion to 4.5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), the paper reported citing an unidentified source.
Finnish union issues strike notice on nuclear site
Wednesday, August 27, 2008The Finnish Construction Trade Union on Tuesday issued a strike notice covering the nuclear power station construction site in Olkiluoto.
The union said in a statement that temporary employment agency Rimec, thought to be registered in Cyprus, had withheld more than third of the pay of its Polish builders for tax and social security contributions but failed to explain where the money had been rendered.
Finland halts work on nuclear reactor over safety concerns
Friday, August 22, 2008Finland’s fifth nuclear power plant, which is currently under construction, has been put on ice pending new studies on the safety of its building methods. The suspension resulted from a report recently issued by Greenpeace that found irregularities in the welding.
Although Finland’s nuclear safety authority (STUK) rejected many of the claims made by Greenpeace, it will conduct intensive studies on the safety and quality of the welds, which are critical parts of the reactors’ structure. STUK’s Assistant Director Petteri Tiippana said, “The ministry will ask for a report from us on this issue very soon and we are planning to respond to that within the next week”.
Finland seeks details on nuclear safety checks
Thursday, August 21, 2008HELSINKI (Thomson Financial) - The Finnish government said Thursday it wanted the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) to clarify its inspection principles, following criticism of its work at a nuclear reactor building site.
'The (economy) ministry wants further reports from STUK on its inspection principles and precision, and how these compare to practices in other countries,' the Finnish employment and economy ministry, in charge of energy industry issues, said in a statement.
