The partners of the Russian nuclear power plant planned for Pyhäjoki in Northern Ostrobothnia tell Yle that they are increasingly attentive to the project.
Russia’s military pressure on Ukraine and uncertainty over the construction permit for the nuclear power plant have already caused some stakeholders to calculate how much they would lose if the plant did not materialize.
The turnkey plant, a Russian state-owned subsidiary of Rosatom, would be Finland’s first completely new nuclear power plant since the 1970s.
According to the original plan, it should have started operations in 2020. Now the company aims to start commercial operations in 2029.
According to the Voimaosakeyhtiö SF Group, Finnish companies, most of which are municipal energy companies, have invested approximately EUR 470 million in the Fennovoima project.
Voimaosakeyhtiö SF owns 66 percent of the shares and RAOS Voima the rest. RAOS Voima is a Finnish subsidiary of Rusatom Energy International, which in turn is part of the Russian state-owned Rosatom.
The power company’s largest stakeholder group is steelmaker Outokumpu with a 21.9 percent share. It has one of the largest stainless steel plants in Europe in Tornio, about 200 km north of Pyhäjoki.
The second largest is Suomen Voima, which consists of a consortium of 17 municipal energy companies in southern Finland, which together own 13.1 per cent. All other stakeholders own less than 10 percent.
Jouni HaikarainenThe CEO of Lahti Energia, which has invested 15 million so far, said the company could lose all the money it had invested if the project was not completed.
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"The situation has been challenging for the last couple of years," Haikarainen said.
SRV’s surprise start
Yle interviewed several of Fennovoima’s shareholders after the construction company SRV announced that it would sell its 2 percent stake in Fennovoima to RAOS Voima.
The deal, which would increase Russia’s stake to nearly 35 percent, still requires approval from the Ministry of Economy and Labor.
Kaakon Energia, located in Eastern Finland, has asked Voimaosakeyhtiö for more information on SRV’s withdrawal and possible similar arrangements. The company is owned by the local energy companies of Imatra, Parikkala and Outokumpu, all municipalities near the Russian border.
SRV’s announcement came as a surprise to other shareholders, as other companies have previously managed to divest their holdings.
For example, the dairy company Valio, which is a shareholder in Fennovoima through its subsidiary, has been trying to find a buyer for its shares since 2015.
Valio has stated that it wishes to divest its holdings due to the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the project and because nuclear power is not its core business.
Boliden, Ovako and S Group companies have also tried to withdraw in the past, but have not been able to sell their shares.
Chairman of the Power Company Timo Honkanen, which is also the CEO of Turku Energia, still believes that the plant will be completed. He believes the project will be profitable in 60 years.
"As long as the sanctions do not materialize, I believe it will be lifted. But it is a very long process. It must be done in the right way so that there is no doubt that it is working exactly as it should," he told Yle. It remains unclear whether EU sanctions on Russia would affect the project if it re-attacks Ukraine, as the Nord Stream gas pipeline would.
The ministry doubts the timetable
Fennovoima’s goal is to get a building permit next summer and start construction next summer.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is skeptical about the timetable.
By Riku HuttunenAccording to the Director General of the Ministry’s Energy Department, the schedule depends primarily on how Fennovoima delivers the necessary material to the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Stuk) and when it will complete the safety assessment.
Only then can the ministry evaluate the building permit application and prepare the matter for the government, which will make the final decision.
The Ministry’s assessment would cover, among other things, whether the company has sufficient expertise to build the plant, its financial situation, how nuclear waste management would be organized and whether the project is in the public interest.
"Experience has shown that the timetable must be careful," Huttunen says.
For example, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor at the old power plant in the southwest is expected to finally start commercial operations this year – about 13 years behind schedule.
According to Huttunen, the ministry has not yet decided whether a separate security report on Russia’s role in the project would be prepared, as requested by the Ministry of Defense last autumn. According to the ministry, the links between the state’s Rosatom and Russia’s security policy goals should be clarified.
Rosatom will play a key role in the project, as it would not only be a major owner, but would also build the plant and supply its fuel for at least the first decade.
Stuk says that despite repeated requests, ROAS has not yet provided all the material needed to conduct the safety assessment.
The central part of the power plant, a reactor pressure vessel, will be built in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The city is close to the current war zone in eastern Ukraine.
Some of the welding work is done in Russia. All work abroad must be under Stuk’s control and take at least a year.
Source: The Nordic Page