TVONS’ project in Poland now at one-year point – we asked participants about their experiences so far
When a new nuclear power plant is under construction on the Baltic shores, it is quite natural to seek support from a source with the most recent experience about NPP construction. And as a subsidiary of Teollisuuden Voima, TVONS has been a party to the shift from a traditional coal country into the nuclear era. In addition to TVONS, Fortum Nuclear Service has also been part of the project for about a year, and the experiences have been extremely positive.
History is currently in the making in Poland. The development of the nuclear power programme is one of the cornerstones of the energy transition and the construction of the first nuclear power facility of the country plays a key role in this.
The goal of Poland is to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. At the same time, the nation of millions of people is also making significant progress in the fight against climate change.
Pomorze has become a familiar region
Poland’s first, but by no means the last, nuclear power plant is constructed in Lubiatowo-Kopalino in the Pomorze region, about a hundred kilometres from Gdansk.
The planning and design stage has proceeded in accordance with the goals which is good news. Construction work is planned to start already in 2028 which means the first Polish plant unit could be in regular electricity production in 2036.
The NPP project is implemented by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe which is a 100% government-owned company. It will be referred to by its abbreviation PEJ later in this text.
For the Managing Director of TVO Nuclear Services Oy (TVONS), Mr. Ari Leppänen, Poland has become a very familiar place recently. The company that he heads has been acting in an advisory role to PEJ for about one year.
– Our comprehensive consultation agreement is related to the planning of preparedness for the project stage and the operational stage of the new nuclear power plant. PEJ has no prior experience of a similar project, Leppänen says.
The brief given to TVONS can be characterised as broad with experts from TVONS participating in planning and design activities related to the different stages of the plant project. A team of some twenty seasoned nuclear power professionals has been involved in the project.
A wide scope of experiences
As the project has now reached the one-year point almost to the day and the progress of the project has attracted a lot of interest, we decided to gather both the experiences of people involved in the project and the viewpoints from both sides of the table.
Here are some direct quotes from the experiences of the Finnish experts:
– It has been interesting to be part of this project. Personally I have been involved in reviewing and commenting on the commissioning plans. The Polish party appears to appreciate our input and takes our feedback well under advisement. In many cases their views have been in line with our views and our comments and experience have supported them in pursuing their own ideas in negotiations with the plant supplier.
– The project has offered a really interesting opportunity to help a new organisation to develop while at the same time developing also one’s own knowledge. Cooperation with different cultures adds another aspect to it and it is interesting to see how we sometimes act in very different ways due to cultural differences.
The participants also commend the good attitude of their Polish colleagues and their keen interest in learning.
– We have seen that the client is ready to invest time and resources in the planning and design of the project in compliance with the best practices, comments one of the TVONS experts.
– They are extremely committed to learning and adopting the best practices in the nuclear power industry, which of course is an excellent starting point for any type of cooperation, says another one.
And learning has been a two-way street.
– Cooperation with PEJ has been very productive and we have learned a lot from each other during the project.
It is self-evident that the planning of a pioneer project comes with some major challenges.
– The project has been challenging but rewarding and we are proud to be part of the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.
The project knowledge accumulated from Olkiluoto 3 has proven to be highly valuable.
– The lessons learned and the best practices from OL3 have been a great advantage, especially from the point of view of the future operator in a completely new nuclear power plant project. We have been able to provide answers to many questions and difficulties that we had faced previously.
Compliments from the Polish
In the interest of reciprocity, we asked also the Polish client for their views on the cooperation. This is what they said:
-We are aware that managing the operation of a nuclear power plan requires preparation in advance. Our cooperation is based on key areas such as capacity building process, licensing and engineering from a future operator perspective, and the same time gaining new competences in a field of fuel strategy development or waste management strategy. Thanks to our Finnish friends, PEJ acquires essential key competences on how to perform the owner's designated roles with full responsibility in the future, being key support to PEJ in preparation of Operational Readiness strategy.
The Polish client also sees that the agreement strengthens the process of building technical competence among PEJ’s employees, who will play a significant role in the ongoing investment process.
-The TVO selected advisors guarantee the support in the form of a team of experts with practical experience in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants and ongoing cooperation with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe. The consortium of Finnish companies, acting as technical advisors also supports PEJ in developing a training plan for employees and preparation for full scope of tasks to be executed by the operator. What is also very important, the cooperation is conducted in very professional and productive manner and the support received by PEJ is deemed as high quality.
Text: Ville Kulmala
Photos: Ari Leppänen and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe
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