Fortum Completes 2024 Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance, Enhances Fuel Supply with Westinghouse Partnership

Fortum Completes 2024 Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance, Enhances Fuel Supply with Westinghouse Partnership

(IN BRIEF) Fortum’s Loviisa nuclear power plant has completed its annual outages for 2024, with both units back online. Unit 2’s outage lasted 23 days, while Unit 1’s extended four-year maintenance took 39 days, with both experiencing minor delays due to technical issues. In addition to refueling and extensive maintenance, Unit 2 saw the introduction of Westinghouse nuclear fuel, ensuring a reliable supply. Approximately 1,360 employees participated in the maintenance activities, ensuring the plant’s safety and efficiency.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESPOO, 11-Oct-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Fortum has successfully completed the annual outages for both units at its Loviisa nuclear power plant, with both now back in operation. Unit 2, which underwent a shorter annual outage, was offline for 23 days, concluding on August 27, while Unit 1 experienced a more extensive four-year maintenance outage lasting 39 days, which finished on October 9, 2024.

During these outages, Unit 2 experienced a delay of 2.5 days due to repairs identified during routine inspections of the secondary circuit and additional valve testing. Unit 1 faced a series of delays, first with a five-day extension due to inspection and maintenance work, including repairs on the diesel generator. Further delays occurred when a technical issue with a control rod was detected during the start-up process, adding another four days. The plant’s ramp-up was paused while the fault was investigated and resolved by replacing the faulty control rod mechanism.

Sasu Valkamo, Senior Vice President of the Loviisa power plant, emphasized the importance of safety throughout the maintenance process. He explained that while annual outages can sometimes reveal unexpected maintenance needs, the meticulous inspections and repairs ensure that the plant’s systems are in optimal condition before it is brought back online.

During the outages, around a quarter of the fuel in both reactors was replaced, with the first batch of nuclear fuel from Westinghouse Electric Company being loaded into Unit 2, marking a significant milestone in fuel supply diversification. This cooperation with Westinghouse ensures a reliable alternative fuel source for Loviisa.

The annual maintenance involved not only the plant’s permanent staff of approximately 660 employees but also 700 contractors who contributed to the refueling, maintenance, inspections, and testing processes.

Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant

In 2023, the load factor at Fortum’s fully-owned Loviisa nuclear power plant was 91.06%. The continuous development and modernisation of the power plant enable load factors that are among the best for pressurised water reactors on an international scale. In 2023, the power plant produced a total of 8.09 terawatt hours (net) of electricity, which is more than 10% of Finland’s electricity production. Fortum employs about 700 nuclear sector professionals, 560 of them work at the Loviisa power plant. Additionally, nearly 100 permanent employees of other companies work in the power plant area every day. More information: www.fortum.com/loviisa

Fortum

Fortum is a Nordic energy company. Our purpose is to power a world where people, businesses and nature thrive together. We are one of the cleanest energy producers in Europe and our actions are guided by our ambitious environmental targets. We generate and deliver clean energy reliably and help industries to decarbonise their processes and grow. Our core operations in the Nordics comprise of efficient, CO2-free power generation as well as reliable supply of electricity and district heat to private and business customers. For our ~5 000 employees, we commit to be a safe, and inspiring workplace. Fortum’s share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. fortum.com

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SOURCE: Fortum Corporation