German energy giant E.ON will purchase land in Finland where it plans to build a nuclear plant, the STT news agency reported on Tuesday. The small town of Loviisa, 85 kilometres (53 miles) east of Helsinki, is preparing to sell 112 hectares (277 acres) of land near a site where two of Finland's four existing nuclear reactors are located, according to a municipal official.
E.ON said last October that it wanted to participate in developing Finland's expansion of its nuclear facilities, and said it would be involved in the construction of the Nordic country's sixth reactor.
A fifth reactor called the Olkiluoto 3, the world's first pressurised water reactor, is currently being built in southwestern Finland.
Finnish electricity companies Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), which owns the Olkiluoto 3, meanwhile beat E.ON to the punch with an announcement last month that they would launch an environmental impact assessment report aimed at clearing the way for a sixth reactor.
The potential construction of Finland's sixth reactor is not likely to happen for many years due to political controversy and legal delays.
The building of the Olkiluoto 3 is already running a year and a half behind schedule and is not expected to be operational until the beginning of 2011.
Source: Agence France-Presse
