- Press room
- About AREVA
- Interactive press
Press releases
July 12, 2006
Olkiluoto 3 progress update
The AREVA-Siemens consortium charged with building Finland's Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant and its customer TVO have made a joint assessment of the state of progress of the project. The consortium forecasts that the new plant will be commissioned during the 2nd quarter of 2010, with electricity being generated for the first time at the end of 2009.
The Olkiluoto 3 EPR is the world's first Generation 3 reactor. It includes numerous innovative features based on operating feedback from the 98 nuclear reactors built by AREVA and has benefited from major research and development programs. It is currently the most advanced reactor in terms of competitiveness, safety and environmental protection.
Considering the scale of this first-of-a-kind project, the problems that have lead to the delays are nothing unusual. These include:
- the need to produce, examine and approve solutions in the areas of project engineering, manufacture and construction while the work is being carried out,
- the time taken for the pool of sub-contractors to achieve the level of performance required for the new generation of nuclear power plants,
- and the problems with concrete production encountered on the site.
In addition, TVO and AREVA confirm that the exceptionally stringent requirements of the Finnish market, one of the most demanding in the world where safety is concerned, are being met in full. For example, the Finnish safety authority carried out a highly detailed investigation into the nuclear island's ability to withstand the impact of a large commercial aircraft. These studies will constitute a unique reference for future EPRs.
Generally speaking, the OL3 project is enabling AREVA's Reactors and Services Division to acquire unrivalled experience in the international Generation 3 reactor market. This will allow the group's future customers to take full advantage of the series effect.
The current situation of the contract has been carefully analyzed by AREVA and presented to the group's Audit Committee and Supervisory Board; on the basis of these findings, provision will be made for potential additional costs that might result from the current situation. Operating income will be much lower in the first half of 2006 than at the same time last year; furthermore, the group will not generate any pre-tax free operating cash flow in the first half of this year.
The group's highly satisfactory operating performance, due notably to the dynamic Front End Division and the success of the plan to optimize the activities of the Transmission & Distribution Division, are such that the profits targets for 2006 remain unchanged. Nonetheless, pre-tax free operating cash flow, which reached exceptionally high levels in 2004 and 2005, is set to be highly negative in 2006 due to the forecast increase in investment which will take place mainly in the second half of the year (see presentation of the 2005 financial results) and the carrying forward of the advances relating to OL3.
|
|||
| All the press releases |
 |
||
Press Office:
What is sustainable development?
Tropical temperature for breeding 500 crocodiles
WBCSD - ARESE
