Finland Times

 

Fennovoima Office at Pyhäjoki. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

The government is going to table Fennovoima’s revised application for licence before the cabinet and parliament for approval, said an official press release on Monday.

 

Economic Affairs Minister Jan Vapaavuori at a press conference also set the condition of having at least 60 per cent Finnish ownership for issuing the construction licence.

 

He also said the supplementary application for deadline extension by Teollisuuden Voimato (TVO) will be presented for rejection.

 

The proposals will be tabled before the cabinet on Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said he thinks it likely that the government on Thursday will approve the Fennovoima nuclear power plant application, reported the news agency STT.

 

The Minister of Economic Affairs, Jan Vapaavuori spoke at a press conference on the proposed nuclear power plant in Helsinki on Monday. Photo – Lehtikuva.

Earlier, in the press conference, Vapaavuori said, “I will propose to the Government that the application by Fennovoima to supplement the decision-in-principle should be approved, with one precondition for the construction permit: at least 60 per cent of the shares must be in Finnish ownership.” 

 

If parliament approves the proposal, the decision will be politically binding for future governments as well, remarked the minister.

 

“...... I will propose to the Government that TVO’s application for an extension of the existing decision-in-principle should be rejected,” added Vapaavuori.

 

He said, owing to uncertainties connected with the OL3 project, it is not possible to reliably evaluate if TVO would be able to proceed with the project all the way through the investment and submission of the construction licence even under a new deadline.

 

“The existing decision-in-principle has a significant impact on the workings of the electricity market and on competition in the field. Good governance requires that players in the field must be treated even-handedly and that the licensing process should be predictable,” said Vapaavuori.

 

Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

It is inconceivable to give one player in the field the possession of a decision-in-principle, if significant uncertainties are connected with both the realisation of the project and its timetable, he pointed out.

 

Fennovoima applied for a supplement to its decision-in-principle primarily after its reactor option changed to that of a Rosatom 1200 megawatt AES-2006 Pressurised Water Reactor, which was not among the nuclear plant alternatives examined in the application submitted in 2009.

 

Earlier, in February 2013, Fennovoima delivered the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

 

The EIA was for the planned 1,200 megawatt pressurised water reactor to be constructed at Pyhäjoki. The supplier is a concern of the Russian state-run Rosatom Group.