Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on 17 December signed a 10-year €65 million ($74 million) loan agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank to finance safety system upgrades Olkiluoto 1&2.
The €200 million upgrade project will include the replacement of the eight original emergency diesel generators with nine new ones. The current generators have been in operation for almost 40 years.
The reactor recirculation pumps and their frequency converters will also be replaced, and a steam-driven coolant injection will be installed in the reactors that is not dependent on external power supply.
The Nordic Investment Bank is an international financial institution owned by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. It finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries.
The bank noted that Olkiluoto 1&2 "are the most significant electricity production units in Finland, and their smooth operation is important for the security of supply of wider NordPool power markets".
In September, the government approved a 20-year extension to the operating licences of the two 890MWe boiling water reactors units. The current operating licences, issued in 1998, were valid until the end of this year. Both units are now permitted to operate until the end of 2038.
Olkiluoto 1&2, which began operating in 1979 and 1982, currently meet one-sixth of Finland's electricity demand. Once the EPR under construction at Olkiluoto unit 3 begins operation (expected in January 2020), the plant will account for about 30%.
TVO also announced on 17 December that the first 34 operator trainees for Olkiluoto 3 had been granted operator licences by the radiation and nuclear safety authority. The trainees will continue practicing operation of the reactor on a simulator until June 2019 when fuel will be loaded into the unit. TVO said that at least 21 operators will be required to provide full cover for the main control room shifts when the EPR starts operation.
Photo: Olkiluoto 1 reactor hall (Photo: TVO)
