HS: Olkiluoto 3 has been a financial catastrophe for Areva, Siemens

THE THIRD REACTOR of Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant has been a financial disaster for the two plant suppliers, France’s Areva and Germany’s Siemens, writes Helsingin Sanomat.

Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), the company operating the plant, communicated last week that the suppliers have pledged to inject an additional 80 million euros in capital into a fund set up to guarantee the completion of activities during the warranty period.

“The funds reserved for their completion in the fund mechanism were depleted in the autumn of 2024” the company wrote in a press release issued on 12 December.

The third plant unit has experienced numerous faults and disruptions since it was officially inaugurated in 2022. TVO ordered the plant from the suppliers under a turnkey agreement for a fixed price of roughly three billion euros more than 20 years ago. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2005, with the completion date set for 2009.

Ultimately, the unit was completed 14 years behind schedule, with the original budget comfortably exceeded. The unit began commercial electricity production in mid-2023.

Helsingin Sanomat on 12 December reminded that Areva estimated already in 2012 that the plant would ultimately cost around 8.5 billion euros. The endeavour eventually bankrupt the company, resulting in intense talks in 2016 as the French government decided to incorporate healthy parts of the company into the state-owned Électricité de France (EDF). The concern was that the plant supplier would not be left with the funds and expertise to complete the project.

In 2018, the plant supplier consortium agreed to capitalise the fund mechanism set up to ensure the project’s completion with 709 million euros, an amount that, at the time, was estimated to suffice for the construction work and activities during the warranty period. TVO was also promised 450 million euros in compensation for the delays.

In 2021, Areva committed an additional 600 million euros to the fund.

TVO in 2018 estimated that the third reactor unit will cost it a total of 5.5 billion euros.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT