Report on the environmental impact assessment procedure for Olkiluoto nuclear power plant 

Teollisuuden Voima Oyj plans to extend the service life of the Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 nuclear power plant units and increase their thermal power. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure referred to in the Act on the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (252/2017) is applied to the project. The EIA procedure examines extending the service life until 2048 or 2058 and increasing the thermal output from the current 2,500 megawatts to 2,750 megawatts beginning in 2028 at the earliest. The no-action alternative is to continue the use of OL1 and OL2 plant units at the current thermal output until the operating licence ends in 2038. 

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment acts as the coordinating authority for the EIA procedure. The EIA programme of the project was submitted to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in January 2024, and the Ministry issued a statement on it in April 2024. After that, the EIA procedure moves to the report phase. Under the Act, the assessment report must include information on the project and its alternatives, a description of the current state of the environment as well as assessments of likely significant environmental impacts and the measures to mitigate them. 

A public consultation and a public event will be organised on the assessment report. Information on the time of the public consultation and event will become available on the website of the coordinating authority later. During the consultation, all interested parties can express their opinion on the report, and the authorities relevant to the project and the municipalities in the impact area can submit statements on the report. An international consultation on the report will also be organised in accordance with the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (67/1997), i.e. the Espoo Convention.  

After the consultation period has ended, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will submit an informed conclusion. In the informed conclusion, the coordinating authority states its view on the significant environmental impacts of the project. The conclusion will be based on the assessment report, statements and opinions issued on it, and the coordinating authority’s own evaluation. 

The likely significant adverse environmental impacts assessed in the EIA procedure and the measures to prevent or mitigate them must be considered in any subsequent permit procedures. 

Inquiries: Miia Saarimäki, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 295 047 033, [email protected]