Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen of Center Party says in Loviisan Sanomat regional daily paper that the government may propose one or two licences for the Parliament. The Prime Minister does not expect that three licences will be given but thinks that decision makers are ready to give at least one licence.
According to Mr Vanhanen, the forecasts on electricity need are the most important point of view when deciding how many licences will be given. He predicts that the electricity need will be such that one nuclear power licence will be needed. Mr Vanhanen points out that another consideration is if the licences should include terms regarding to when the plant can be constructed.
The Prime Minister believes that even if three licences were given, the construction of the three plants would not start simultaneously. He reasons that this would mean that some of the licences would be given for the future. He says that it is not possible to give licences that are “on hold” so such a decision should be left for future Parliaments.
Mr Vanhanen does not accept the idea of sconstructing nuclear power just for electricity export purposes but he does allow exporting nuclear power energy from time to time. The Prime Minister thinks that the electricity system must function so that Finland is self-sufficient in all circumstances, also when the weather is very cold. For this reason, it is legitimate to generate electricity with nuclear power for export, too, as the exports would be carried out in times when own consumption is not as big as production.
Matti Vanhanen is not prioritizing the applicants and states that each applicant have their strengths and weaknesses. According to Mr Vanhanen, TVO is supported by its cumulated expertise and experience but he adds that there are also views according to which TVO has already been given a licence and they had their turn.
Mr Vanhanen notes that thanks to E.ON, Fennovoima may actually be even more competent than TVO, although TVO’s experience is the widest among the Finnish operators. He says that another strength of Fennovoima is its vast group of shareholders including big industrial companies and local electricity companies.
The Prime Minister sees that Fortum’s strength is that its old nuclear power plants in Loviisa must be renewed in any case. He adds that another argument for Fortum is that in a way, Fortum withdrew from the last round of applications and therefore one could claim that now its Fortum’s turn.
