Finland extends life of last coal generator for three years, despite spending billions on nuclear

Finland has extended the life of its last ageing coal fired power generator to ensure there are no blackouts in coming winters, despite recently connecting a new 1.66 GW nuclear plant that was finally delivered more than a decade late and nearly four times over budget.

The decision by the National Emergency Supply Agency, Huoltovarmuuskeskus (NESA) to extend the life of the 565 MW Meri-Pori coal plant was announced on Monday by Finish utility Fortum, which said the plant would have been shut down otherwise because it had not been commercially viable for several years.

Since 2017, the Meri Port coal fired generator has been operated only sparingly as part of the country’s peak load reserve system, while waiting for the much delayed Okiliputo nuclear plant to be complete.

It had been due to shutter for the last time next April, but will now be extended till the end of 2026 to ensure that the country has enough reserve capacity as it deals with the multiple threats to energy security, chiefly from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the soaring cost of fossil fuels.

The decision in Finland – which now sources 40 per cent of its power from nuclear – follows a similar move in France in September, where the country’s last two coal fired generators also had their life extended for at least another two years to ensure that there were no blackouts over winter.

Such moves are not uncommon, but it is not something you hear from the rampant pro-nuclear lobby, who continually point to life extensions of coal plants in Germany, where the last nuclear power stations have been closed, as proof of the folly of relying on renewables.

The reality is that all generation needs back-up, and reliability issues affect all different technologies. France, for instance, became a massive importer of power – mostly from renewables in Germany last year because half of its nuclear fleet was offline due to maintenance and safety problems with many of its plants.

Normally, France is a net exporter of power, mostly because it cannot consume the output of its nuclear fleet at times and has too export surplus capacity at low cost – just as it happens in grids dominated by wind and solar.

The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant – also owned by Fortum – began construction in 2005 and was expected to begin operations in 2010. After a series of delays it was finally connected to the grid in 2022, only for more problems to emerge that delayed full commercial operations until early 2023.

A month later it dialled down production because of negative prices on the wholesale market, because of surplus capacity and because the country’s pumped hydro reserves were already full because of the spring thaw.

Its costs below out from an original fixed price contract of €3 billion to more than €11 billion, and caused the collapse and buyout of its original developer, the French nuclear company Areva.

“Operating the Meri-Pori plant has not been commercially viable for several years and consequently, it has been in the Finnish peak-load reserve system during 2017-2022,” said Simon-Erik Ollus, Executive Vice President of Corporate Customers and Markets of Fortum.

” However, we at Fortum are very pleased the plant could support security of supply in Finland during the energy crises last winter, when Olkiluoto 3 was just starting its commercial operations.

“This agreement reinforces the resilience of the Finnish energy system. Without this agreement, we would have had to take the decision to close down the plant.”