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The Renewal of Nuclear Power in Finland pp 3–37Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Transillumination of Finnish Nuclear Policy: Seeking a Shortcut to a Low Carbon Society

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Part of the book series: Energy, Climate and the Environment Series ((ECE))

Abstract

At the beginning of the new millennium Finland’s national energy policy, in common with other nation-states, was at a crossroads. The Finnish decision was to allow the construction of a new nuclear power plant (NPP), a development which can be regarded as unique in international terms. In May 2002 the Finnish Parliament ratified the government’s earlier favourable Decision-in-Principle (DiP) on a fifth NPP unit.1 In December 2003 the power company Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) made an investment decision about the European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR), which has a net electrical output of about 1,600 MW. This plant is being built by a consortium of Framatome ANP and Siemens AG.2 The country also has an international reputation as a pioneer of nuclear waste management. In May 1999 Posiva, the company responsible for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finland, suggested that the government of Finland should consider only Olkiluoto in Eurajoki in its application for a DiP as the final disposal site. In January 2000 the municipal council of Eurajoki made a positive statement on the DiP. The government made the DiP on 21 December 2000, and its decision was ratified by Parliament on 18 May 2001.

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Authors
  1. Tapio Litmanen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Tampere, Finland

    Matti Kojo (Researcher) (Researcher)

  2. Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

    Tapio Litmanen (Professor) (Professor)

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© 2009 Tapio Litmanen

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Litmanen, T. (2009). The Transillumination of Finnish Nuclear Policy: Seeking a Shortcut to a Low Carbon Society. In: Kojo, M., Litmanen, T. (eds) The Renewal of Nuclear Power in Finland. Energy, Climate and the Environment Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230237032_1

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