Fennovoima, the nuclear power consortium of Finland, said Monday that it had postponed expectations for a building permit for a Rosatom-built nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, North Ostrobothnia on the country's western coast for the year 2018.
Owing to paperwork delays that contributed to a slower-than-expected review by Finland's nuclear power regulator, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority if Finland (STUK), construction permits for the project are not expected until sometime in 2019, Fennovoima said in a statement.
“Taking Finnish requirements and legislation into consideration in the design work has taken more time from the plant supplier than we originally expected,” said Fennovoima Chief Executive Officer Toni Hemminki. “Since the delivery of documents during the first two years has been slower than expected, neither STUK has been able to carry out their own assessment work on the scale they had planned,” the CEO said.
Fennovoima asserted that the project, in which preliminary site work has already begun, is still a go. An application for a construction license was submitted in 2015, but media reports indicate that the paperwork handed in for review was incomplete, forcing STUK to request further documentation.
In late July, STUK Director General Petteri Tiippana warned Fennovoima that more paperwork was required and that further delays could jeopardize the original schedule for licensing. At that point, Fennovoima said it still expected licenses to be issued in 2018.
According to CEO Hemminki, the consortium said, “things are developing in the right direction. For example, the plant supplier (RAOS Project, a subsidiary of Rosatom) and main designer have brought almost one hundred new experts to Helsinki during last spring and summer,” the announcement said. “This has speeded up the work significantly.”
The Hanhikivi Unit 1 power plant will use Russia's VVER technology. “For us it is a big advantage that Hanhikivi 1's reference power plant LA ES-2 will be completed in Sosnovy Bor next year. All the latest know-how and experience will be at our disposal during the construction phase,” Hemminki said.