Delayed Finnish Nuclear Reactor Forecast to Start Operating in 2018

By Juhana Rossi

HELSINKI--A nuclear reactor under construction in Finland is now forecast to start operations in late 2018, nearly a decade later than originally planned, the reactor's owner consortium Teollisuuden Voima Oyj said Monday.

TVO has contracted a consortium led by the French nuclear giant Areva SA (AREVA.FR) to build a 1,600-megawatt reactor in Olkiluoto, an island on Finland's west coast.

The new reactor, dubbed Olkiluoto 3, has been under construction since 2005. It is now expected to start "regular electricity production" in late 2018, TVO said in a statement.

TVO said its estimate is based on a construction schedule update provided by Areva in September.

Olkiluoto 3 was originally scheduled to start commercial operations in 2009.

TVO is in legal dispute with Areva and Siemens AG (SIE.XE)--the other partner in the construction consortium--over the financial losses caused by Olkiluoto 3's delays.

TVO submitted to an arbitration court a claim for 1.8 billion euros ($2.29 billion) against Areva and Siemens in September 2012.

In October 2013, Areva and Siemens raised their counterclaim against TVO to EUR2.6 billion from EUR1.9 billion.

Write to Juhana Rossi at [e-mail]

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