The Areva/Siemens consortium has been awarded the contract by Finnish electricity utility Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) to build a 1600 MWe EPR (European Pressurised water Reactor) nuclear power plant at the Olkiluoto site in Finland. The nuclear island for the turnkey project, which will create a third reactor on the site, will be supplied by Framatome ANP, the turbine island by Siemens. Overall project cost has been estimated by TVO at around r3 billion: The plant is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2009.
Civil construction and a major part, around 40%, of supply and installation work will go to local Finnish companies. Other suppliers will include Areva's Chalon/Saint-Marcel and Jeumont nuclear components plants in France, and several Siemens plants which will supply the turbine generator set.
Areva says that the EPR is 'state-of-the-art technology' in terms of economy, safety and environment, resulting from its intensive R&D based on operating experience of nearly 100 nuclear power plants built around the world. The EPR, it believes, will show significantly lower electricity generation costs compared to nuclear and fossil-fired power plants currently in operation, and attain new reactor safety levels owing to enhanced accident prevention and control systems.
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