Wednesday, 30 April 2025
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Olkiluoto units 1 and 2 – which were first connected to the grid in September 1978 and February 1980, respectively – currently meet 15% of Finland’s electricity demand. The two boiling water reactors are permitted to operate until the end of 2038. Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) is considering extending the operating licences by a further 10-20 years and increasing the power output of each reactor from 890 MW to approximately 970 MWe.
The loan agreed with the Nordic Investment Bank will help finance key investments aimed at maintaining and improving safety measures and ensuring the possible extended operational lifetime of the two units. The term of the loan is 10 years. External funding to the investment project will amount to about EUR150 million, TVO said.
The investment project encompasses two major initiatives: the replacement of the instrumentation and control and monitoring systems at Olkiluoto 1 and 2, as well as the modernisation of the reactor steam separators at both units.
“These investments are designed to further improve the safety and availability of our plant units,” said Mikko Lampinen, senior vice president for engineering at TVO. “The possible extension of the service life of the plant units as well as an increase of their thermal power have also been accounted for in the investment plans.”
“This important financing increases the stability of TVO’s overall financing structure,” added Lauri Piekkari, senior vice president, treasury and risk management at TVO, saying the long-term loan from the Nordic Investment Bank “supplements very well our capital market-driven debt financing scheme”.
TVO submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project to extend the operation of and uprate Olkiluoto 1 and 2 to Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in December 2024 and the EIA reporting stage was completed earlier this month with the ministry issuing its Reasoned Conclusion. According to the Conclusion, the EIA Report meets the requirements laid down in EIA legislation.
Nordic Investment Bank is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
Nordic Investment Bank President and CEO André Küüsvek said: “This financing reinforces our role in supporting the Nordic-Baltic region’s energy security and diversity of energy sources. By modernising critical nuclear power infrastructure, we help ensure reliable energy production that meets future demands while contributing to the carbon-neutral ambitions to move away from fossil energy sources.”
