MINISTER of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen (NCP) believes a new large-scale nuclear power plant is needed in Finland, reports YLE.
Mykkänen on Tuesday stated that the need stems from the fact that the existing nuclear power capacity and growing wind power capacity will not suffice to cover the projected doubling of electricity consumption in the coming 10 years, an increase that is attributed to the shift away from fossil fuels in heating.
“If we move forward with these growth figures, the question won’t be whether it should be wind power or nuclear power. We’ll need both,” he was quoted saying at a news conference by YLE.
More nuclear power, he argued, is needed also to enable the growth of wind power, as the latter has to be supplemented with a steady source of electricity to shield against weather-related fluctuations in output. Batteries and other so-called flexibility solutions designed to balance the power system will also be required.
The Finnish government states in its action plan that it is committed to granting in-principle approvals to all nuclear power projects that meet the national criteria. The government is presently seeking to accelerate the build-up of nuclear power with a new price system that, on one hand, guarantees producers revenue also when spot electricity prices are or below zero and, on the other, obligate producers to compensate customers when the prices exceed a particular limit.
The price mechanism would apply to new nuclear power throughout the life cycle of the plant. Its objective is to kick off a nuclear power project as large as possible, outlined Mykkänen.
“Without this the clean transition can come to a stop. There can be unreasonably dramatic price swings for consumers,” he said, conceding that some electricity producers have expressed doubt about the functioning of the proposed mechanism.
“Because nuclear power is what we need the most at this moment,” he added, when asked why the mechanism is targeted exclusively at nuclear power.
Mykkänen also pointed out that the mechanism would place no additional pressure on state coffers, as it would simply transfer funds between the producers and consumers of electricity. What the central administration is willing to offer, though, are loan guarantees and hedges against interest rate swings for the duration of nuclear power construction.
“We’re talking about an investment of 10 billion and a long construction project,” he reminded.
Fortum, a majority state-owned power company, has lobbied for state funding for increasing the nuclear power power capacity in Finland to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT