As a condition of the extended licence, Fortum was required to reveal procurement arrangements for new nuclear fuel by 31 December at the latest, it added in a statement.
The company is currently using Russian supplied uranium but recently signed a deal with US-based Westinghouse for future supply.
“Fortum estimated that investments related to continuing of the operations and the lifetime extension will amount to approximately EUR 1bn” said company CEO Markus Rauramo in a statement following the government announcement.
“No Loviisa 3”
The approval of the extended lifetimes at Loviisa – which currently produces about a 10% of the country’s power needs – sent a strong signal regarding future nuclear investment, he added, though currently ruled out a third reactor at the site.
“Decarbonisation of our industries requires large volumes of clean and reliable electricity that cannot be covered by new additional and intermittent sources only,” said Rauramo, with the firm recently launching a study on the feasibility of new nuclear plants in the region.
The power plant would generate up to 170 TWh of electricity under the extension, Fortum said previously.
