Wind power construction continues at a steady pace
According to statistics compiled by the Finnish Wind Power Association in June 2023, the second largest amount of wind power capacity is being built in Finland this year. At the beginning of the year, 75 new wind turbines were built, with a total output of 439 megawatts (MW). The combined production power of our country’s wind turbines is expected to increase to approximately 7,200 megawatts by the end of the year. Future wind power construction is strongly influenced by the new government program, the entries of which have caused some uncertainty about Finland’s attractiveness as an investment environment.
At the end of June, there are a total of 1,468 wind turbines producing clean energy in Finland. This spring, new wind power was also ready for production in the Eastern Lapland region in Salla and Kemijärvi. Around 180 more power plants are expected to be completed during the rest of the year.
The good pace of wind power construction started at exactly the right moment, when there is a greater need for domestic energy than ever before.
“With the new wind power and nuclear power capacity, Finland will finally become self-sufficient in terms of electricity. We are still dependent on imported energy for transportation, heating and industrial energy consumption. Energy self-sufficiency requires much more electricity production, in which case all the above-mentioned sectors can also switch to using carbon-neutral energy sources,” says Anni Mikkonen, CEO of the Finnish Wind Power Association.
It takes several years from the time the wind power project’s investment decision is made to the start of the construction of the power plant and electricity production. Regarding the wind turbines being built now, the investment decisions were made at the turn of the decade, before the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. The industrial investment intentions published this spring will also require more clean electricity. It is very important that investors’ trust in Finland as a stable and safe investment environment is maintained.
“There were a few entries in the government program that sounded quite radical, but were left unclear in terms of implementation, for example in relation to the distance limits of wind power and regulating power obligations and the capacity market. Even the experts do not know what these would mean in practice. Uncertainty can be reflected, not only in wind power, but also in the confidence of those investing in other sectors. Clear rules of the game and well-thought-out implementation of the government’s program are now at the center, so that we can get much-needed investments, work and vitality in Finland”, emphasizes Mikkonen.
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