NUCLEAR FLAGSHIP PROJECT IN FINLAND FACES MAJOR PROBLEMS

The flagship project of the European nuclear industry, the construction of a new nuclear power station on a small island called Olkiluoto off the west coast of Finland, is in trouble, writes Satu Hassi, Finnish Minister of Environment from 1999-2002 and a member of the Europarliament. In this article, Hassi writes that the project is at least one and a half years behind schedule because of quality problems and delayed blueprints. The delay has already caused significant losses to one of the contractors as well as for the Finnish government, because the justification for the project was the Kyoto climate treaty. Though Finland sees itself as a leader in climate protection, since the construction permit for the Olkiluoto 3 reactor was issued, it has in many ways become a laggard in climate protection. Several measures adopted in many other European countries to promote renewable energy have been rejected in Finland. In the EU Council of Ministers, Finland has been one of the countries most reluctant to accept long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the Union.