Finnish companies have great plans concerning Hanhikivi nuclear power plant

Oleg Abelev, head of the analysis department of the investment company Ricom Trust.
Finland’s largest power company Fortum has said it intends to buy a 6.6% share in Fennovoima Company that is going to build the Hanhikivi nuclear power plant in association with the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom. Two more Finnish companies have declared their plans to buy a 1.8% share each. Those are the civil engineering company SRV and the steel manufacturer Outokumpu. The increase in the share of Finnish companies in the project will fulfill the Finnish government’s condition that requires European investors to own at least 60% of the project. Hearing the decision of the Finnish companies Economic Affairs Minister Olli Rehn stressed the social and economic importance of the project by Fennovoima Company. Rosatom welcomed the arrival of new shareholders in the project. “The decisions that have been made further enhance the commercial attractiveness, safety, and confidence in the successful implementation of the project for building a new nuclear power plant in Finland,” said Rosatom First Deputy Director General Kirill Komarov.

Oleg Abelev, head of the analysis department of the investment company Ricom Trust, reminded that prior to these decisions attempts had been made to discredit the project including on the part of the cabinet of ministers. But then there are solid reasons for raising the Finnish share in the project. First, a new source of energy will be built. Then the new investors include Outokumpu, which is a rather large steel manufacturer that needs a powerful source of energy. The company is interested in getting guaranteed volumes of electricity at a steady price. As you can see, the company’s participation in the project is explained by economic considerations. Moreover, Finns can see the example of the nuclear power plant Loviisa that was built using Soviet technologies. The power plant has been operating steadily for a long time. Despite lamentations about nuclear power plants after the accident in Japanese Fukushima nuclear power has no competitors in terms of energy output over a certain period of time. Apart from that, unlike coal-based and heat-powered energy generation nuclear power boasts much lower emissions of pollutants and CO2 into the atmosphere. Taking into account the existing attitudes of Scandinavian countries and Finland in particular to such emissions and greenhouse gases the choice of nuclear power plants as a source of clean energy is justified.

The increase in jobs and the possible increase in capital flow should also be borne in mind. The economic situation in Europe is not stable now, far from it. This is why any project able to raise investments and create jobs deserves close interest.

Since the steel manufacturer Outokumpu will raise its share in the project, it has rather big plans regarding the project. The company needs a stable source of energy. The new nuclear power plant is supposed to generate energy in 2023-2024 since Finnish safety requirements are some of the most rigorous ones. As a result, the project will hardly be below operating standards of the Loviisa nuclear power plant. Apart from that, the new project takes into account Fukushima lessons and has a backup control center in case of emergencies. As you can see Finns are driven exclusively by economic considerations with regard to the project.