Wind power could cover Finland’s doubling need of electricity
According to recent wind power project statistics, the growth of wind power in Finland is on a strong foundation: a record amount of almost 135 gigawatts (GW) of new wind power capacity is planned for land and sea. In practice, the extensive wind power project portfolio means that even if the electrification of society and new industrial investments would double our country’s electricity needs, the wind power capacity now being planned will be able to meet the need quickly and cost-effectively. Wind power projects are being planned inland in wider area than before, which increases Finland’s energy security and distributes the prosperity brought by investments more evenly.
According to the project statistics of the Finnish Wind Power Association (FWPA), slightly more onshore than offshore wind power is currently planned for Finland, although the number of offshore wind power projects is clearly growing faster than onshore wind power projects. 68.8 GW of new wind power is planned for land and 66 GW for sea. The numbers include projects from preliminary plans to the construction phase.
During wind power project planning, it is carefully determined whether wind power is suitable for the area in question. Not all planned projects will be realized. However, the number of land and offshore wind power projects that have land use plan done, are fully permitted, and are already under construction is significant, more than 11 GW. At least this amount of wind power capacity will most likely be completed during this decade and will increase Finland’s electricity production by about 40 percent.
“One of the clear advantages of wind power is the fast construction phase. The fully permitted projects will be able to produce electricity very quickly within 2 to 3 years. If Finland and the new industry want clean electricity cheaply and quickly, wind power is currently the winning solution, thanks to our country’s significant wind power project portfolio,” says FWPA’s CEO Anni Mikkonen.
Regionally consistent wind power production is in the interest of all of Finland
Most of the wind power is planned for the provinces of North Ostrobothnia (128 projects) and Ostrobothnia (44 projects), but the top five provinces now also include the province of Central Finland (29 projects). A regionally more even placement of wind power projects in Finland than at present is important from the point of view of the vitality of different regions, but also from the point of view of the country’s energy security as a whole.
“The clear regional benefits of wind power are the growing property tax and rental income, as well as jobs that strengthen local vitality. Currently, wind power construction is still strongly concentrated in the Ostrobothnia provinces, and from the point of view of benefiting the whole of Finland, wind power construction should be made possible more widely in different parts of the country, especially in Eastern Finland. It would increase the stability and energy security of our electricity system, smooth out fluctuations in the price of electricity, and guarantee clean electricity production for industrial projects that need it,” Mikkonen emphasizes.
Download project statistics 1/2024
Download the graph of planned wind power projects by province