The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support a safety upgrade at the Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) Olkiluoto power plant in south-western Finland. The EUR 100 million loan will allow TVO to carry out an upgrade of certain safety systems on an existing nuclear power plant, thus continuing to ensure a safe energy supply for an important share of the Finnish population.
The project will increase safety, reliability and operational efficiency of the two nuclear units in operation (Olkiluoto 1 and 2) by replacing the existing emergency diesel generators, adding a new diesel unit, replacing the reactor internal pumps and their frequency converters, as well as installing a new alternate coolant injection system. These investments contribute to the National Action Plan for Finland developed following the European Stress Tests for Nuclear Power Plants, initiated by the European Council and conducted in 2011-2012, and are fully in line with the applicable EU Directives and Finnish regulations.
“Ensuring that the highest standards of nuclear safety are applied is of the utmost importance," said Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori of the project. “The schemes to be financed under the EIB loan are part of TVO’s continuing safety improvement and systematic equipment life cycle management process”.
The net output of both Olkiluoto 1 and 2, TVO's two nuclear plant units currently in operation, is 880 MW each, some 18% of all the electricity consumed in Finland. Together, these units produce enough low carbon electricity to supply the equivalent of over 1.7 million households in Finland.