The fate of the nuclear power plant project pursued by Fennovoima rests yet again on Fortum after the Ministry of Employment and the Economy turned down an investment in the project by Migrit Solarna Energija.
The ministry ruled on Thursday that the investment would not allow Fennovoima to meet the condition set by the Parliament that a minimum of 60 per cent of the project costs be borne domestically – that is, by parties residing or domiciled in the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
The Croatian company was brought in as an investor by Voimaosakeyhtiö SF, a consortium of Finnish shareholders in Fennovoima, at the last minute in an attempt to meet the condition.
“It appears that the funding arrangements behind Migrit lead to Russia,” said Olli Rehn (Centre), the Minister of Economic Affairs. “Both the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and a report commissioned from Ernst & Young found no assurances that Fennovoima's project meets the requirements set by the Parliament.”
Fennovoima has already begun preparatory work at the proposed site of the nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, some 100 kilometres south of Oulu.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy also ruled on Thursday after hearing the Chancellor of Justice that Voimaosakeyhtiö SF has to find a new investor before Rehn presents the matter to the Government for consideration on 6 August.
“The investor in question could, for example, be Fortum. It has a long and broad experience in the energy and technology sector,” Rehn said.
The energy utility announced last winter that it is prepared to take a stake in Fennovoima on the condition that it reaches an agreement with Gazprom over the acquisition of hydro and heat assets in Russia. Rosatom, the Russian minority shareholder in Fennovoima that is to supply the power plant to Pyhäjoki, was part of the overall arrangement.
Fortum announced its withdrawal from the nuclear power project in June after the takeover negotiations hit a stalemate. The negotiations between Fortum, Gazprom and Rosatom remain ongoing and may decide the fate of the Hanhikivi Nuclear Power Plant.
“It's fundamentally a question of trade negotiations between two, even three companies. The Finnish Government is for its part ready to facilitate the negotiations, if need be,” Rehn said.
Voimaosakeyhtiö SF assured as recently as Thursday that Migrit Solarna Energija will allow it to satisfy the ownership requirement. Chief executive Elina Engman said that the nuclear energy consortium has inquired into the ownership of Migrit Solarna Energija with various consulting agencies and is confident that it can satisfy the condition.
“Voimaosakeyhtiö SF itself found no obstacles to satisfying the requirement of domestic, EEA operators,” she said.
She also assured that the condition would be met even if “one of our shareholders was deemed invalid”. “Voimaosakeyhtiö and Rosatom have stipulated in the corporate documents that Voimaosakeyhtiö must under all circumstances, with no provisos, hold a minimum of 60 per cent of shares in Fennovoima,” stated Engman.
Toni Hemminki, the chief executive at Fennovoima, said that the nuclear energy company will continue its efforts to promote the project. “The need for the project hasn't disappeared in the big picture. Finland needs electricity,” he said.
How likely is it currently that the project will be carried out?
“We have over 200 people here working tirelessly to make sure [the power plant] is built. We wouldn't be here unless we believed it was a certainty,” replied Hemminki.
Opponents of the nuclear power plant project demanded on Thursday that the Government turn down the project. “The Government must convene without delay and stop the resuscitation. The condition set by the Parliament hasn't been met and the grounds for the project's continuation do not exist,” Sini Harkki, a country manager at Greenpeace Nordic, stated in a press release.
Tuomas Niskakangas – HS
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
© HELSINGIN SANOMAT
