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Europe's Nuclear Debate

Finland Raises Eyebrows with New Nuclear Reactor

By Renate Nimtz-Koester

Finland is alone among European countries in building a new nuclear reactor -- the world's most powerful. Almost no one in Finland is opposed to nuclear power, and both risks and economic objections are suppressed to the chagrin of other European countries. Will Finland become Europe's "nuclear park" as critics contend?

Eurajoki has plenty to offer, including an imposing manor house in the classical style, a medieval castle that was once home to pirates and a seaside setting along the Gulf of Bothnia.

But inhabitants of this western Finnish town of 5,826 are even prouder of two giant concrete monuments made of northern red clay. Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 -- two nuclear power plants located on the eponymous island in the Baltic Sea -- are at the top of Eurajoki's list of tourist attractions.

A massive new nuclear reactor is being constructed next to the plants. The 19 hectare (47 acres) construction site, as seen from the distant reed-covered shoreline, is marked by a giant crane. Olkiluoto 3, a new breed of pressurized water reactor being built by a German-French consortium and costing around three billion euros, is the most expensive industrial project in Finnish history. The 1,600-megawatt plant, the world's most powerful, will go on line in 2009. "When it comes to efficiency, safety and environmental protection," boasted French manufacturer Areva during the groundbreaking ceremony, the reactor represents today's "most advanced technology."

The Finnish nuclear industry is also involved in another major construction project on Olkiluoto. A tunnel is gradually being dug deep into the island's gneiss and granite rock -- the future site for the storage of the sealed waste from all Finnish nuclear power plants.

In addition to the reactors, the town will also be the site of a radioactive waste dump. In most places, that would send a chill through the community, but here the locals are eagerly embracing the development. In fact, the town, which produces almost 20 percent of all electricity consumed in Finland, has even dubbed itself "the most electric municipality in Finland." The third reactor will raise that number to 35 percent.

Until now, a total of four nuclear reactors have provided electricity to Finland's 5 million people -- the two on Olkiluoto Island and two others, located in the small coastal city of Loviisa, east of Helsinki. Loviisa had also bid for the new super-reactor and the storage site, but lost.

With the iron braces still sticking out of Olkiluoto's concrete foundations, which will support a turbine manufactured by Bavarian power plant manufacturer Siemens, Finland's sixth reactor is already in the works. "We are ready," says Pertti Simola, head of electricity conglomerate TVO, which operates the Olkiluoto reactor. Officials from Eurajoki, he cheerfully adds, have already given their unofficial consent. But the decision on where to build the next plant lies in the hands of TVO's six shareholders: power and wood companies. The Finnish paper, metal and chemical industry consumes so much energy that per capita electricity use is twice as high as it is in Germany. "We need cheap energy to be able to compete in Europe," says Simola, "and we want to be independent" -- of unpopular neighbor Russia, which is a major energy supplier.

Simola, a former deputy director of paper giant UPM Kymmene, is pleased about the Eurajoki inhabitants' nuclear enthusiasm and raves about their clear decision-making process and Finland's exemplary democracy. Even though it was a close vote in parliament three years ago when the country's fifth reactor came up for approval, the plan has faced little public opposition. "Once we have made a decision at the political level," says Simola, "we stand by that decision."

Juha Jaakkola, 60, chairman of Eurajoki's town council, agrees. "We don't take to the streets in Finland," he says, "and we are not vocal about voicing our criticism." Jaakkola, a farmer, is one of the seven members of the town council who voted against the new construction -- the other 20 were in favor. The fact that the town already has two reactors proved to be a key argument in favor of allowing construction, says Jaakkola. TVO built a new retirement home, and the community now has "more jobs and athletic clubs, and is more affluent than other towns in the region."

"We have no odors, no noise and nothing unpleasant that you can actually taste," says Jaakkola's wife Pirjo, the community's commissioner for culture. Nevertheless, the Jaakkolas' reticent comments not only reflect skepticism, but also a trace of bitterness and resignation. After all, what can opponents of the plant do when the entire country now has Eurajoki in its sights? Large power poles are springing up everywhere, and farmers are being forced to give up land to accommodate the equipment. And, under Finnish law, landowners receive little compensation for their loss.

"We are concerned about our beautiful landscape," says Pirjo Jaakkola, "will this still be a good place for our children?" Will the reactors have a negative impact on vegetable farming, which is how 10 percent of the town's inhabitants make a living -- either as a result of radiation of simply the misgivings of buyers? "We have to be concerned about our reputation," says Jaakkola, "while TVO reaps the benefits."

According to Jaakkola, not everyone is pleased about the prospect of talking to TVO. Tours of the power plant, which gets about 12,000 visitors a year, are conducted exclusively by "those who agree with TVO." Twenty percent of these nuclear tourists come from abroad. Jaakkola says that the Japanese, in particular, find it surprising that there have been no protests against construction of the new nuclear power plant in Finland. "Why not?" they ask.