WNN
Summary
Among the municipal decision-makers in big Finnish cities, an average of 86% said they support the construction of SMRs, while only 11% are opposed. The most favourable municipal decision-makers are in Tampere (94%), Espoo (93%), Lahti (94%), Turku (91%) and Helsinki (89%).
Last month, Steady Energy said it is set to start construction of its first LDR-50 district heating reactor pilot plant in Finland next year, with potential sites including the Finnish capital Helsinki and two other cities. The pilot plant will serve as a full-scale, operational model of the Finnish-designed SMR. Unlike the actual power plant, the pilot unit will use an electric element to produce heat inside the reactor capsule instead of nuclear fuel. The main purpose is to test operational features and to establish the necessary supply chains with various manufacturers to construct actual plants.
Steady Energy - which was spun out in May 2023 from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland - expects the construction of the first operational LDR-50 district heating plant to begin by 2028, with the first unit expected to be operational by 2030. The LDR-50 district heating SMR - with a thermal output of 50 MW - has been under development at VTT since 2020.
In Finland, more than half of the energy used for heating comes from district heating, which is mostly produced with fossil fuels, peat and biomass. Utilities are seeking ways to swiftly transit away from combustion-based heat production to new and innovative low emission alternatives such as SMRs.
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