Helen of Finland Launches EIA for Helsinki SMR

Recently, Helen Ydinvoima Oy (Helen) of Finland officially announced the launch of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, aimed at comprehensively assessing the environmental and social impacts of constructing a small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant at one of three potential candidate sites in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Helen is committed to achieving carbon-neutral energy production by 2040, and its nuclear energy plan aims to evaluate mature SMR technologies that can produce either heat only or combined electricity and heat. The EIA programme has been officially submitted for public consultation, marking the full launch of this statutory assessment procedure. The candidate sites include Salmisaari, Vuosaari, and Norrberget in Östersund, and the assessment programme sets out five different implementation combinations of technology and siting.

According to the plan, the assessment will examine in depth the maximum operating capacity of a heat-only plant (reactor capacity 630 MW) and a combined heat and power plant (reactor capacity 1,400 MW). Pekka Tolonen, CEO of Helen Ydinvoima Oy, stated that nuclear energy has the core advantages of low emissions and weather independence, which can effectively curb energy price fluctuations and significantly enhance Helsinki's energy self-sufficiency.

The entire EIA procedure will proceed in stages, with the final assessment report expected to be officially published in 2028. With the assistance of the Swedish engineering consultancy AFRY, Helen plans to finalize the specific construction site of the nuclear power plant in 2028, providing key data support and decision-making basis for future formal licensing and commercial deployment.