Finland to Expand Wind Energy to Around 10,000 MW by 2025 - Government Initiates Offshore Auction Process
Helsinki, Finland - The expansion of wind energy continues to make rapid progress in Finland. This is according to the latest annual statistics from the Finnish Wind Energy Association 2023, which has already presented the latest installation data. With the recently initiated auction process for offshore wind power sites, the Finnish government is sending a clear signal.
Finland 2023: Wind power output and wind power generation rise to new record levels
There are now 1,601 wind turbines in Finland with a total capacity of 6,946 megawatts (MW). According to the Finnish Wind Energy Association (Suomen Tuulivoimayhdistys), a total of 212 new wind turbines with an output of 1,280 MW were installed in 2023. In the course of 2023, 4 wind turbines with a total capacity of 12 MW were dismantled in Finland.
At 1,280 MW, the expansion in 2023 is the second-highest figure in Finland's history after the exceptional year 2022 with 2,430 MW. According to data from the European grid operators (ENTSO-E), Finnish electricity generation (net electricity generation) from wind energy increased by around 24 per cent to 13.8 billion kWh in 2023 (previous year 2022: 11.1 billion kWh) (as of 2 January 2024).
Regional distribution - Northern Ostrobothnia and other provinces of Ostrobothnia
In Finland, wind energy is still heavily concentrated in Northern Ostrobothnia and other provinces of Ostrobothnia. Most new wind farms were built in the provinces of Northern Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia and Southern Ostrobothnia in 2023. Northern Ostrobothnia has 38.5 per cent of Finland's wind energy, which is also where most of the projects under development are located, according to the Finnish association.
Finnish government launches auction process for offshore wind power sites - 7,500 MW offshore capacity
On 23 November 2023, the Finnish government initiated a decision to launch an auction process for offshore wind power sites in Finland's public water areas. As jointly announced by the Finnish Ministries of Forestry, Economic Affairs and the Environment, the offshore wind power sites to be auctioned will be located in public water areas managed by Metsähallitus, the state-owned company responsible for land and water areas, in the regions of Ostrobothnia and Northern Ostrobothnia. The auction process will be initiated according to the model developed in 2021.
Metsähallitus will then select the project partners through a tender, lease the site to the selected partner and sell the project rights for the development of the site, construction and production of renewable energy. The maximum lease term for the Finnish offshore wind farms is 50 years. According to the ministries, the total area of the five offshore wind power sites to be included in the tendering process is around 860 km2. The calculated maximum capacity is around 7,500 megawatts and the number of offshore wind turbines is estimated at around 500.
"This decision is of historic proportions and will lead Finland to strong growth in clean energy production. Wind power from the sites to be auctioned is expected to increase Finland's annual electricity production by more than a third. The increase in electricity production is an important means of promoting targeted investments in the manufacturing industry in Finland," says Climate and Environment Minister Kai Mykkänen .
Wind energy expansion by 2025 in Finland - 10,000 MW of wind power capacity possible
The Finnish Wind Energy Association expects around 450 MW of wind power capacity to be added in 2024, with a further 2,000 MW of new wind power capacity already known for 2025. In total, wind power capacity in Finland could therefore increase to almost 10,000 MW by 2025. However, it is also possible that projects will be installed later than planned due to delays and that these delays will then have an impact on the annual statistics.
Source: IWR Online, 02 Jan 2024
