Material and energy efficiency

Material efficiency through recycling

The TVO Group procures products that are durable and have a long lifespan, and takes into account opportunities for their recycling and potential reuse at the end of their service lives. The procurement operations ensure safe, competitive, and reliable production and long-term operation of the plant units. All purchased products and services must meet the TVO Group’s quality, occupational health and safety, and environmental requirements.

The TVO Group is committed to the reduction of the amount of waste and to the improvement of the reuse of waste. This is a requirement for everybody working at Olkiluoto. All waste generated at Olkiluoto is sorted and processed. The sorted waste is recycled as materials whenever possible, or reused as energy. Only waste that cannot be reused in any manner is taken to the landfill. In 2021, there was no such waste. All hazardous waste is collected in the hazardous waste storage to be sent to an appropriate waste treatment plant.

Improving energy efficiency

For several years, TVO has participated in the voluntary Finnish Energy Efficiency Agreement for Industries. TVO signed the agreement for the first time in 1998. In accordance with the agreement, efforts have been focused on the continuous improvement of energy efficiency at the plant units and in the Olkiluoto area.

TVO has also signed the Energy Efficiency Agreement for 2017–2025. During this period, the associated Action Plan for Energy Production aims to implement actions designed to make the use of energy more efficient, as well as to improve the efficiency of primary energy use and the total efficiency of energy production. TVO’s total energy savings target for 2017–2025 is 150 GWh, which equals the average annual consumption of some 7,500 single family homes heated with electricity. This target was already reached in 2019, so an additional savings target of 1 GWh was set for 2020–2021.

TVO and Posiva carry out activities related to energy efficiency as part of their normal operations. For TVO, the highest potential for savings involves the improvement of the efficiency of the electricity production process; this has been implemented in the long term by means of plant modernization projects throughout the operational history of the company. Another area of improvement is the reduction of own energy consumption at the company’s site in Olkiluoto. The energy efficiency system ETJ+ has been integrated into the TVO Group’s environmental management system. It is used to improve energy efficiency in compliance with the principle of continuous improvement in all of the Group’s operations.

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