Kuopion Energia Oy small modular reactor plant producing district heating

Kuopion Energia Oy is a company operating in the energy sector, and it is wholly owned by the City of Kuopio. The company’s operations include energy production, district heating and district cooling.

There are about 6,300 district heating customers and they were supplied with 866 GWh of district heat and 9 GWh of district cooling in 2025.

Energy production takes place mainly at the Haapaniemi combined heat and power plant, where wood is the principal fuel. The goal is to eliminate CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 2028. The older unit of the power plant is expected to be decommissioned in around 2035, and small-scale nuclear power production is regarded as a viable future option for district heat production.

Kuopion Energia has decided to explore the possibilities of using an SMR plant as a heat source for its district heating system. This decision is based on the need to find sustainable and environmentally friendly energy solutions that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and minimise its carbon footprint. District heating produced using a small modular reactor (SMR) plant is believed to be a competitive and price-stable production method for customers over the long term.

According to the current plan, the decision on proceeding with the SMR plant project will be made during 2030. For this purpose, the company will investigate the potential environmental impacts of a SMR plant during construction and operation in accordance with the Act on the environmental impact assessment procedure (252/2017). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment acts as the competent authority in the environmental impact assessment procedure.