– Edited By Chris Reed –
Toshiba Corporation has signed a technical development agreement with Finland's Fennovoima for the construction of a nuclear power plant. Under the scope of the agreement, Toshiba will provide essential engineering data on its Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) that Fennovoima will evaluate prior to applying for a construction license for the plant.
Established in 2007, Fennovoima aims to set up the "safest, most efficient, and best performing nuclear power plant in the world". The company was granted a Decision-in-Principle by the Finnish government in May 2010 in favor of the construction of a plant, a move that was ratified by the parliament this July. Fennovoima is now conducting technical evaluations in preparation for construction of the new plant, with the goal of starting operation in 2020.
Toshiba, working with its U.S. subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Company, has been selected to support technical development of the new plant. The company will continue to provide engineering support through to Fennovoima's final selection of a supplier of the nuclear power plant in 2012. Toshiba has been proposing its 1.6GW ABWR to Fennovoima since 2008.
Fennovoima is also considering AREVA's Kerena boiling water reactor (previously known as the SWR-1000).