Annual outage 2016 to begin at Fortum’s Loviisa nuclear power plant

The annual refuelling and maintenance outage of Fortum’s nuclear power plant’s Unit 1 in Loviisa, Finland, begins on Sunday, 7 August.

Followed by the servicing of Unit 2. This year Unit 1 will undergo the extensive inspection outage performed every four years and Unit 2 is scheduled for a so-called short refuelling outage. The entire outage procedure is estimated to be completed in eight weeks.

In addition to the normal periodic maintenance tasks and refuelling, the most significant work on both units this year is the modernisation of high-pressure turbines and replacement of main transformer and generator breaker. At Loviisa Unit 1, reheaters and safety valves in the intial steam line will be replaced. At Unit 2, the generator’s rotor will be replaced and major overhaul of stator conducted. During the outage, one quarter of the fuel will be replaced.

«The turbine modernisation is among the most significant investment projects in the Loviisa power plant’s history and part of the continuous improvement of the plant. The investment ensures reliable electricity production of the plant units to the end of their lifetime. The modernisation will significantly improve the efficiency of the turbine plant’s electricity production without increasing the reactor’s thermal output,” says Timo Eurasto, Manager of Loviisa power plant’s Operations unit. Because the modernisation will target only the turbines, it does not impact the reactor plant or nuclear safety.

A total of 950 external contractors are involved in the Loviisa power plant’s annual outage and ongoing modernisation projects. There are approximately 500 Fortum employees and some 100 permanent contractors working at the Loviisa power plant.

Loviisa power plant
In 2015, the load factor at Fortum’s fully-owned Loviisa nuclear power plant was 92.9%. On an international scale, the load factor was among the best in the world for pressurised water reactor power plants. The plant produced a total of 8.47 terawatt hours, which is approximately 13% of Finland’s total electricity production. The Loviisa power plant employs approximately 500 Fortum employees and 100 permanent contractors. In 2015, Fortum invested EUR 80 million into the Loviisa nuclear power plant.

Fortum
Fortum’s vision is to be the forerunner in clean energy. We provide our customers with electricity, heat and cooling as well as other energy solutions that improve present and future life. Already 64% of our electricity generation is CO2 free. Our main markets are the Nordic and the Baltic countries, Russia, Poland and India. In 2015, we employed some 8,000 energy sector professionals, and our sales were EUR 3.5 billion. Fortum’s share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.fortum.com

Kommentarer

kommentarer