Minister of Finance Riikka Purra Visits the Power Plant
Riikka Purra, Finland’s Minister of Finance, visited Olkiluoto late last week. It was her first time visiting a nuclear power plant. Purra says she has always viewed nuclear power positively, and the visit certainly did not change that perception for the worse.
Teollisuuden Voima’s Public Relations Manager, Juha Poikola, provides Minister Riikka Purra with additional information about an OL3 fuel assembly.
A visit to Olkiluoto had been on the minister’s agenda for quite some time, but scheduling conflicts had delayed the trip.
- It was great to finally have the opportunity to visit Olkiluoto now that Parliament is in recess and I was already coming to this side of Finland for the weekend, Purra says.
She explains that her positive attitude toward nuclear power dates back many years.
- Even when I was young and global environmental problems first began to concern me, I thought that combating climate change without nuclear power would be extremely difficult. I have never really understood the strong opposition to nuclear energy, she says.
Touring Both OL3 and ONKALO
During her visit, Purra toured the turbine hall of Olkiluoto 3 as well as Posiva’s ONKALO final disposal facility located deep underground in the bedrock. The visit was hosted by TVO CEO Philippe Bordarier and Posiva CEO Ilkka Poikolainen.
After the tour, the minister returned to the Visitor Centre clearly pleased with the experience.
- Today I learned a great deal, especially about nuclear plant processes and the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. My understanding beforehand was not particularly deep, but everything was explained in a very clear and understandable way during the visit. That made many things easy to remember, Purra says.
According to the minister, the visit itself did not bring any major surprises. The environment of the nuclear power plant largely matched the impression she already had.
-erything here appeared very clean and systematic — almost clinical. The sunny weather probably made the impression even stronger, Purra notes.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Finnish Energy Policy
According to Purra, Finland has succeeded in many areas of energy policy.
- Although Europe has struggled with high energy prices in recent years, electricity in Finland has remained reasonably priced compared to many other countries, she says.
She points to Germany as an example of how major the consequences of energy policy decisions can be.
- Compared to that, Finland’s long-term work and investments in energy self-sufficiency have been important and correct decisions, Purra says.
She is more critical of decisions related to peat production.
- From the perspective of security of supply, overly rapid decisions were certainly made in the phase-out of peat. Fortunately, some improvements to this have now been included in the government’s recent budget negotiations, she adds.
Purra believes nuclear power will continue to play a major role in Finland’s energy production.
Finland relies heavily on nuclear power, and the government also takes a positive view toward the construction of new nuclear power, Purra says.
Electricity Price Monitoring Is Also Part of Everyday Life in the Purra Household
Although electricity prices in Finland have remained relatively moderate on a European scale, there have still been occasional price spikes. This has also influenced energy consumption in the Purra household.
- We have a spot-price electricity contract, and both my husband and I are perhaps a bit ‘nerdy’ in the sense that we actively follow electricity prices. We try to adjust our consumption whenever possible — for example by scheduling household appliances to run during cheaper hours. We also have geothermal heating at home, which helps us manage energy consumption, Purra explains.
Text: Ville Kulmala
Photos: TVO and Posiva