The power companies TVO and Fortum say they have enough interim waste storage space while further capacity for long-term storage is built.
YLE reported last week that the waste handling company Posiva may face a delay in getting approval for its underground waste vault, which is designed to hold nuclear waste for 100,000 years.
The company, owned by the TVO and Fortum power utilities, has two and a half years to show that the planned underground facility will meet the demands set by nuclear safety authorities. It says that if necessary, it is ready to change its timetable.
TVO and Fortum say that a possible delay would not affect the construction of two new reactors that are currently awaiting final approval by Parliament, since highly radioactive spent fuel can be kept in temporary storage for several decades. Posiva's largest shareholder, TVO, is already moving ahead with an expansion of an interim storage facility for waste from the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear production unit, which is still under construction.
Safety first
Posiva's other owner, Fortum, believes that the final storage project will remain on schedule. However, it also says that a possible delay would not be a problem because Fortum has sufficient interim storage capacity at its Loviisa nuclear power plant site.
"From our point of view, what is of course most important is that the project is carried out safely. There is a need for research and that will be done, even if it were to mean a slight delay," Fortum's Executive Vice President for Corporate Relations and Sustainability, Anne Brunila.
The Fennovoima utility, which is awaiting Parliamentary approval of its first nuclear plant permit, is not worried about a delay in the permanent storage project. Its concerns are focused on getting a green light to build a nuclear plant and a contract with Posiva to accept waste from that plant for disposal in its underground facility. So far, Posiva has been reluctant to make a deal.
"Fennovoima will be responsible for its own waste, and we'd gladly have cooperation with Posiva. However, it is good to note that our waste will be placed in final disposal sometime after 2050, so (Posiva's) timetable doesn't affect our project," points out Fennovoima CEO Tapio Saarenpää.
Posiva has filed a preliminary construction permit application for review by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. The evaluation will take until late in the year.
The deadline for turning in a final application is 2016, when a decision in principle by Parliament on allowing the construction of final disposal facility for nuclear waste expires.