Finnish wind power year 2022: Wind power capacity increased by 75% and brought more than 2.9 billion investments to Finland
Wind power significantly increased Finland’s renewable energy capacity in 2022. During the year 2,430 megawatts of new wind power capacity was built in Finland, and at the same time our wind power capacity increased by 75 percent. 437 new wind turbines were put into operation. Wind power is currently one of the industries that brings the most investment euros to Finland – the projects completed last year alone brought a total of over 2.9 billion euros of investments to Finland.
By the end of 2022, a total of 1,393 wind turbines have been built in Finland, with a combined power of 5,677 megawatts. The capacity increased significantly during 2022 with 2,430 megawatts and 437 wind turbines. 47 percent of Finland’s wind power is domestically owned. The majority of the wind turbines completed during the year 2022 have started producing electricity at the end of the year, and their production will therefore only start to be reflected in the production figures of 2023.
“No other industry currently brings as many annual investment euros to Finland as wind power. Wind power also brings vitality to many small municipalities, where investment targets may otherwise be few. In addition to investments, wind power is now increasing our country’s energy self-sufficiency at a really good pace – just when new and affordable electricity production is most needed. No other electricity generation can be built in Finland as quickly and as cost-effectively right now,” says Anni Mikkonen, CEO of the Finnish Wind Energy Association (FWPA).
Wind power will rapidly increase Finland’s electricity production capacity in the coming years as well. “After this record year, the additional construction of wind power will level off for the next few years to an annual level of around 1,000 megawatts,” predicts Mikkonen. FWPA follows published investment decisions and collects them in the list of wind power projects under construction. According to the list, around 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity will be completed in 2023, over 1,200 megawatts in 2024, and around 1,000 megawatts again in 2025. The figures will probably still go up, at least for the years 2024 and 2025. In 2025, wind power is expected to cover at least 28 percent of Finland’s electricity consumption.
Wind power can therefore quickly respond to the increase in electricity consumption resulting from the green transition and demand for clean electricity. Affordable wind electricity and a strong wind power project portfolio are Finland’s competitive advantages when looking for investment sites for green transition investments. It is therefore extremely important that the measures currently being taken to combat the energy crisis are planned to be short-term and in such a way that they do not weaken the willingness to invest in new electricity production in Finland. At the same time, care must also be taken to make the zoning and permitting processes and court proceedings more efficient, so that wind power production can be quickly increased, and help both the rapid achievement of Finland’s climate goals and our country’s energy self-sufficiency.