In 2022, most of the wind turbines were built in the Ostrobothnia provinces
The four provinces of Ostrobothnia were the busiest provinces for wind power construction in 2022. The most wind turbines were completed in the provinces of North Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia, where wind power construction brought a total of over 1.8 billion euros in investments. The largest wind power province in Finland is still North Ostrobothnia, which has a total of 41 percent of all wind power capacity in our country. Ostrobothnia will continue to be the largest wind power production region in Finland, as 76 percent of the wind power to be built in the years 2023 – 2025 will be located in the area of Ostrobothnia’s four provinces.
Wind power projects brought a significant amount of investment, especially to the provinces of North Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia in 2022: more than 1.5 billion euros were invested in North Ostrobothnia and more than 320 million in the province of Ostrobothnia. North Ostrobothnia still holds its place as Finland’s largest wind power province with 41 percent of the country’s wind power capacity. After North Ostrobothnia, the largest wind power provinces are Ostrobothnia (17%), Lapland (12%) and South Ostrobothnia (10%).
More and more Finnish municipalities have wind power, and the largest wind power municipalities already have wind power of several hundred megawatts. Last year, wind power plants were completed in a total of 24 municipalities, and more than 100 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity was commissioned in eight municipalities. The most wind power capacity was completed in Pyhäjoki (375 MW), Kristiinankaupunki (278 MW) and Kannus (271 MW). The largest wind power municipality in Finland is Pyhäjoki, which has a wind power capacity of 547 MW.
“Many small municipalities received a significant amount of wind power in their area last year. For example, 61 wind turbines were completed in Kannus, with a population of just over 5,000, which brought investments to the area worth over 300 million euros and will generate an estimated more than 24 million euros in real estate tax income for the municipality during its lifetime. These are significant numbers for many municipalities,” says Anni Mikkonen, CEO of the Finnish Wind Power Association.
More than 3,000 megawatts of new wind power are under construction – a large part in the provinces of Ostrobothnia
According to investment decisions published so far, over 3,100 megawatts of wind power will be built in Finland by 2025. The numbers can still go up, at least for the years 2024 and 2025, if new investment decisions are published during the current year. Most of this wind power under construction will also be located in the provinces of Ostrobothnia; 24% for North Ostrobothnia, 19% for Central Ostrobothnia, 18% for South Ostrobothnia and 15% for Ostrobothnia. When the investments come, they will bring vitality to the region for a total of more than 3.5 billion euros.