It is offering two reactor types: the EPR, a pressurised water reactor, and the SWR 1000, a boiling water reactor. "With EPR and SWR 1000, we have two reactors which represent the most advanced reactor technology internationally in terms of operating economy and safety," said Vincent Maurel, Framatome president and CEO. The EPR and SWR 1000 were developed with the involvement of European nuclear power plant operators, research institutes and safety authorities on the basis of proven light water reactor technology. Both are claimed to fulfil the European Utility Requirements on future nuclear power plants and to meet European electricity companies' expectations.
The EPR evolved from optimisation of the design features of the French N4 and the German Konvoi technology. Its electricity output is at the upper end of the range specified in TVO's call for bids. The SWR 1000 is a development based on Siemens design with a capacity in the middle of the range and builds upon proven German BWR technology. According to Framatome, the EPR and SWR 1000 reactors represent further progress in plant safety, even relative to "the high safety level already achieved with the light water reactors operating today". The company says that accident prevention measures have been improved, but in the event of an incident leading to core damage the consequences would be limited to the reactor building, with no impact on the environment and the population. The safety assessment, which TVO had commissioned with the Finnish licensing authority STUK, concluded that the two reactor designs can meet the Finnish licensing requirements.
The electricity supply plays a more than usually vital role in the economy of Finland, which imports more than 70 per cent of its energy. 27 per cent of current supply is nuclear. Electricity consumption has grown steadily and is forecast to rise by 25 per cent by 2015. It was the increasing dependency on imports led the Finnish Parliament to permit the construction of a fifth nuclear power unit, based on the view that the nuclear option is the best alternative in terms of cost-effectiveness, security of electricity supply, and compatibility with the Kyoto Protocol.
At the close of bidding on March 31, TVO stated that it had received "a sufficient number of tenders", representing various plant types.
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