New encapsulation plant ceremony brought glamour and glitz to Olkiluoto
14.10.2019
There was the festive feeling of a major sports event in the air on Monday 23 September at the ONKALO® site in Olkiluoto as the foundation stone of Posiva’s encapsulation plant was laid. The government’s address during the ceremony was brought by Prime Minister Antti Rinne. Posiva's major stakeholders and media were also present at the festive ceremony.
Prime Minister Antti Rinne participated in the laying of the foundation stone of Posiva's new encapsulation plant.
The afternoon ceremony continued into the evening with a larger stakeholder group in a party tent that had been raised on the ONKALO site. After the speeches, a panel discussion and dinner, guests were entertained by Janne Mustonen’s skilful juggling and a performance by Pete Parkkonen and the Popkorn band.
The festive ceremony climaxed on the dancefloor.
PM Antti Rinne’s speech made cheeks glow
Prime Minister Rinne’s glowing speech to mark the occasion captured the importance of the occasion and was well received by the audience of guests.
The government’s address was brought by Prime Minister Antti Rinne.
- Posiva has demonstrated its ability to fulfil all of the safety and environmental requirements as well as find technologically viable solutions, all within the timeline set by the government. The fact that preparation for the final disposal of the spent fuel of TVO and Fortum has been systematically undertaken already for almost 40 years. This demonstrates a very strong will and capability to make this vision happen,” said Rinne.
According to Rinne the work for Posiva’s development and its advancement to the construction phase has required a tremendous amount of effort and multidisciplinary excellence.
- The know-how has been accumulated while in a pioneering role. The level of excellence achieved has also required a strong network, combining multidisciplinary topics and experts. In order to reach such a goal, it is not enough that the experts at their tasks are top class - they must also be bound together in order to achieve the common goal.
The foundation stone of Posiva’s encapsulation plant was laid on Monday 23 September at the ONKALO® site in Olkiluoto.
‘A significant step’
A similar message was transmitted also by Janne Mokka, the CEO of Posiva. According to Mokka, the laying of the foundation stone marks a significant step in the long preparation of the final disposal facility.- This demonstrates that we are proceeding according to the plan jointly defined already in the 1980s. The entire nuclear sector in Finland can take pride in the fact that we have a solution for the spent nuclear fuel and that we can start the final disposal in a responsible way. The laying of the foundation stone can be a small step in terms of worksite progress but a big leap for final disposal, nuclear power and climate, Mokka said.
According to Mokka, the preparation for final disposal has now been taken to an implementation stage of facilities in Olkiluoto, which is unique on a global scale.
- I am particularly proud of Posiva’s personnel, who have world-class expertise in final disposal. Together with our competent partners we are now making history in our industry. Posiva and our partner network will have a lot of work and challenges to face in the next few years but together we have built a good base for ongoing cooperation and a successful project rollout in beginning the safe final disposal.
A significant project for Satakunta
The construction and engineering of the encapsulation plant and the final disposal repositories is a significant construction project for Satakunta. The cost estimate of the project totals about 500 million euros with an employment impact of around 2500 person years.Present at the foundation stone ceremony, in addition to Rinne and Mokka, were the Chairman of the Municipal Board of Eurajoki Mr. Vesa Jalonen, the Chairperson of the Municipal Council Ms. Ilona Sjöman, the Chairman of Posiva’s Board of Directors Mr. Jarmo Tanhua (TVO), the CEO of Skanska Mr. Tuomas Särkilahti, as well as Posiva’s Board Members Ms. Satu Katajala (Fortum), Mr. Sasu Valkamo (Fortum) and Ms. Minna Laakso (PVO).
Text: Pasi Tuohimaa
Photos: Tapani Karjanlahti
Photos: Tapani Karjanlahti
Take a look at the festive foundation stone ceremony - see the YouTube-video!
Share