Estonian nuclear-energy developer Fermi Energia is narrowing the potential nuclear plant sites in Estonia from six to three, with Madala, Malla and Letipea in Viru-Nigula municipality remaining under consideration.
The company’s application concerns a planned nuclear power plant with an electrical capacity of 600 MW. “A special national plan is necessary to find the best location for the planned nuclear power plant that will also satisfy local communities and municipalities,” Kalev Kallemets, chairman of the board of Fermi Energia, said in the application to begin the siting studies.
The latest update from Tööstusuudised says the areas previously considered in Lüganuse municipality have been excluded on national-defence grounds. The planning process is organised by Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications under the state special national plan, as set out in the officialsite-selection process.
Comparing the remaining sites
The remaining sites will be assessed against safety, environmental-impact and technical-feasibility requirements. The narrowing of the shortlist gives the next stage a clearer direction while keeping the potential facility within Estonia’s broader energy infrastructure planning.
Agnes Lihtsa, planning project manager, said the reduction in the number of locations would help focus the work ahead. “During the planning process, we collect information on the suitability and restrictions of the possible locations. The input received from the authorities has helped clarify which areas it is justified to continue working with,” she said.
Lihtsa said the Lüganuse sites were removed after input from the Ministry of Defence following a security assessment. “A security analysis is a normal procedure. There is a specific methodology for the questions each authority must answer from the perspective of its area, and the input from the Ministry of Defence was that three locations could be considered further and three could not,” she said.
The site search is part of Estonia’s nuclear energy framework. The shortlist reduction does not reduce the wider planning area, which still covers eight municipalities because the potential facility would require electricity connections, cooling-water pipelines, access roads and other supporting infrastructure.
Planning the infrastructure around the facility
The locations of substations considered so far have not changed. The next stage will involve sketching preliminary infrastructure solutions and comparing how the remaining sites could accommodate the plant and the systems needed to support it.
The first route-corridor alternatives are expected to be presented in early 2027, giving municipalities and local communities a clearer view of the infrastructure options.
The government launched the special national plan for the nuclear power plant on 22 May 2025. Its first stage is intended to identify the most suitable site for the plant and its infrastructure by the end of 2027. A second stage would develop a detailed solution for the selected site, including roads and utility networks, and carry out additional impact assessments before final decisions are taken.
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