Finland's Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant Launches Turbine Island Upgrade to Support Operation Until 2050

Finnish utility Fortum has launched a large-scale modernization project for the turbine island at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The project aims to increase the plant's electrical output and ensure the continued, safe, and reliable operation of both units through the end of 2050 under the new operating licenses. The Loviisa plant consists of two VVER-440 pressurized water reactor units and is Finland's first nuclear power plant, currently supplying more than 10% of the country's electricity. Unit 1 entered commercial operation in 1977, followed by Unit 2 in 1981, and the Finnish government approved the extended operating licenses in February 2023.

The core of this upgrade is the modernization of the low-pressure turbines, which is the largest single undertaking in the Loviisa turbine island upgrade. The project will renew the casings and internal components of the plant's eight low-pressure turbines to significantly improve turbine efficiency, enabling the plant to increase electricity generation without raising the reactors' thermal power. The work is being carried out by Czech company Doosan Škoda Power, with the relevant contract signed in May 2024.

In addition to the turbines themselves, Fortum will also upgrade the turbine protection and control systems and their associated actuators on both units. The turbine automation system is responsible for controlling and monitoring turbine operation under various operating conditions and plays a critical role in safety, reliability, and efficiency. This upgrade will bring the systems in line with current technical requirements and improve reliability, maintainability, and spare parts supply security. Meanwhile, the generator auxiliary systems will also be modernized to enhance the control room's real-time monitoring and control capabilities for these systems, with this portion supplied by Finnish company Valmet.

The main seawater pumps in the cooling process are also included in the upgrade scope. The main seawater pumps deliver seawater to the condensers, where steam leaving the turbines is cooled back into water and returned to the plant process; each unit is equipped with four main seawater pumps. As the existing pumps and motors are approaching the end of their technical service life, Fortum plans to replace them under a long-term investment project, which is being implemented by Austrian company Andritz.

The entire modernization program will be implemented in phases in conjunction with annual maintenance outages through 2028. Upon completion of the upgrade, the total installed capacity of the Loviisa plant is expected to increase by approximately 38 MWe from the current 1,014 MWe, and the expected total electricity generation over the new license period will also rise from 170 TWh to 177 TWh. Fortum stated that some existing equipment is facing maintenance pressure due to service life and spare parts supply issues, and geopolitical factors have also exacerbated uncertainty in the supply support for original equipment and systems. This upgrade will therefore help the plant adopt modern technologies with long-term support capabilities. Fortum invested approximately EUR 70 million in the refurbishment of the Loviisa plant last year and expects total investments related to continued operation and life extension to reach approximately EUR 1 billion by 2050.