Estonia narrows the search for its first nuclear plant site to three areas in Viru-Nigula; Lüganuse drops out

Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM), which coordinates the national designated spatial plan for the country's first nuclear power plant, has updated the plan's starting conditions and refined the methodology for impact assessment and site selection, the company Fermi Energia and the BNS news agency reported on Friday, 6 November.

What was decided. Instead of the six sites studied so far, three areas in Viru-Nigula parish, in Lääne-Viru County, will be examined: Madal, Malla and Letipea. According to BNS, carried by Postimees, Lüganuse parish in Ida-Viru County was removed from the list for national defence reasons. Fermi Energia says the process is moving from a broad area to a narrower one and that feedback from state institutions has clarified the advantages and constraints of each area.

The numbers. The planning area, of about 1,285 km², still covers eight local governments: Haljala, Rakvere town, Rakvere parish, Vinni and Viru-Nigula in Lääne-Viru, plus Kohtla-Järve town, Lüganuse and Jõhvi in Ida-Viru. The reason is that power lines, cooling-water pipelines and access roads may cross their territory. The substation locations under consideration have not changed. Fermi Energia proposes a 600 MW plant with two GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactors.

Background. The government initiated the national designated spatial plan on 22 May 2025 at Fermi Energia's request. According to the official planning website, the initial documents and the environmental assessment programme were put out for public consultation and drew numerous proposals and comments, which were then incorporated into the materials.

What comes next. Proposed transmission corridors will be presented in early 2027, and the most suitable site for the plant and its infrastructure should be identified by the end of 2027. Detailed design and further impact assessments will follow; the plan could be adopted in 2030 at the earliest.

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