The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) is preparing for the construction of new nuclear power plants which deviate from the current solutions in Finland. As part of this work, it also assesses the nuclear power plant plans of Finnish companies.
At the end of August, the Finnish company Steady Energy Oy sent the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority material concerning its own small modular reactor type for assessment. Fortum Corporation has already asked STUK for preliminary estimates of the special characteristics of a few plant alternatives earlier this year, .
Steady Energy is negotiating with Kuopio Energia Oy, for example, on the construction of a nuclear power plant for district heating production. Fortum is investigating the prerequisites for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Finland and Sweden.
The assessments paid by the companies give STUK the opportunity to familiarise itself with new types of plant alternatives and assess their safety. At the same time, STUK gains practical experience of how safety assessments will be carried out once the renewal of nuclear energy legislation enters into force. The assessments tell the companies whether their plans meet the safety requirements set for the plants.
The companies have not submitted any licence applications for plants, and STUK’s investigations are not related to the licence processes. However, the Nuclear Energy Act gives STUK the opportunity to carry out preliminary safety assessments unrelated to licence processes.
