Completed in June, commissioned by Fermi Energy project, during which geological investigations were carried out in the village of Letipea in the municipality of Viru-Nigula to assess the suitability of the area for the construction of the foundations of the reactor building. The preliminary study project carried out by Steiger Engineering Office consisted of three substantive parts: design borings and measurements in the village of Letipea, laboratory analyses and expert assessments, and the development of preliminary solutions for the foundation.
According to Marti Jeltsov, Technology Manager at Fermi Energia, the work went according to plan thanks to a strong project team: "During the studies, we obtained a lot of new necessary data on the geology of the area and developed several alternative technical solutions for the foundation of the reactor building, which is about 35 metres deep. "It turned out that, although the underground so-called "core" containing soft material is somewhat larger than expected and the groundwater level in the area is very high, there are still technical solutions for a solid foundation for the reactor building," Yeltsov explained.
Preliminary geological investigations project is one part of Fermi Energy's from the preliminary studies programme, to assess the circumstances of the construction of a small modular reactor in Estonia in the fullest detail. No decisions have yet been taken on the construction of a nuclear power plant or on any site. The final report of the National Working Group on Nuclear Energy on the conditions and options for the deployment of nuclear energy will be available by the end of 2023.
The total cost of the study "Structural geological studies and preliminary design of the foundation of the small reactor in Letipea conditions" (project number RE.5.04.22-0086) is 274 000 EUR and it is co-financed by the EAS RUP Round III for 181 635,88 EUR.