The proposed three new reactors would add from 3,500 megawatts to 6,100 megawatts. The government predicts electricity usage of about 100 terawatt hours in 2030, while the Finnish energy industry forecasts it will grow faster
- Edited by April Murelio -
According to a Bloomberg report, Finland, the European Union’s biggest power consumer per capita, may double nuclear energy production in the next 10 years to wean itself off Russian electricity imports that reached a record high in 2009.
The proposed three new reactors would add from 3,500 megawatts to 6,100 megawatts. The government predicts electricity usage of about 100 terawatt hours in 2030, while the Finnish energy industry forecasts it will grow faster.
Fortum Oyj, Finland’s largest utility, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, and a group led by E.ON AG want permission to build three reactors in addition to the current four. The government plans to make a decision in April.
“It’s first and foremost to be able to replace Russian electricity imports,” Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said in an interview. “We should not be dependent on them and there is no sense in paying Russia for electricity we could produce ourselves.” He is chairman of the National Coalition Party, the smaller government coalition member, which supports granting permits to all applicants provided they meet all criteria.
Finland’s reliance on imports, which come largely from Russia and supply 15 percent of all power, make the country vulnerable because of its energy-intensive industries such as papermaking and winters where temperatures in the north can remain below freezing for six months, supporters of the building program say.
Russia cut gas deliveries to Ukraine three times in five years in a pricing dispute, the last cut was two years ago. It caused hardships, disrupted supplies, and widespread shortages in eastern and Western Europe.
In 2009, Finland’s four nuclear reactors generated one-third of the nation’s 68.7 terawatt hours of electricity output, while hydropower accounted for 18 percent, Finland consumed a total of 80.8 million terawatt hours, with the difference made up by imports. Russian electricity cost Finland 365 million euros ($497 million) last year and accounted for three-quarters of all imported electricity. Finland’s four reactors have a capacity of around 2,700 megawatts and Olkiluoto-3 will produce 1,600 megawatts.
Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), one of the three applicants, is building Finland's fifth reactor, the world’s largest, with Areva. The original target cost was 3 billion euros, though Areva has set aside 2.3 billion euros for cost overruns.