Nuclear consortium Fennovoima said it would choose Russia's Rosatom or Japan's Toshiba to supply a reactor for its planned nuclear power plant in northern Finland, dropping France's Areva.
Last year's exit from the consortium of German utility E.On raised doubts over plans to build a large reactor in Pyhajoki, originally estimated to cost around 4-6 billion euros ($5.1-$7.7 billion). E.On's departure prompted Fennovoima to consider the possibility of a smaller reactor.
The Finnish nuclear consortium will now decide between state-owned Rosatom's medium-sized 1,200 megawatt reactor and Toshiba's large 1,600 megawatt reactor.
"We will decide the supplier during this year," Fennovoima board chairman Pekka Ottavainen said.
Ottavainen said Rosatom's midsized reactor turned out to be the most interesting in the midsize category, and therefore other proposals, including Areva's, had been dropped. He declined to specify the reason.
(Reuters)