Korkia and the renewable energy developer Solmar Consulting have agreed on project development for one gigawatt of solar energy for Southern, Western and Southwestern Finland. The development of dozens of solar parks is already underway, and the completion of the parks is estimated to take place during the years 2025–2027.
– Finland is in sore need of more renewable energy, and solar power offers a quick way to the production of it. These projects will help increase the amount of renewable energy in the summer season, in particular, as the production of wind energy is less at that time. At the same time, solar energy production also helps Finland’s electricity mix and enables the increasing of the country’s self-sufficiency in electricity, says Petri Haataja, Korkia’s Vice President, Joint Venture Management.
The project development work will create the conditions for the building of dozens of solar parks and the investing of hundreds of millions of euros in these areas. Currently, there are more than 20 projects in the pipeline, with unit sizes of 40–100 MW. The commercial operation dates are estimated to take place in 2025–2027, and when completed, the projects will cover the annual energy usage of approximately as many as 52,600 electrically heated single-family homes.
– 1 TWh counted for 1.15% of Finland’s total energy consumption (87,047 GWh) last year. If we look at the issue from the perspective of private households, 1 TWh (or 1,000,000 MWh) covers the annual energy usage of as many as 52,600 electrically heated single-family homes, when we count that an electrically heated private home of 120 m2 uses 19,000 kWh in one year. In terms of population, this corresponds to, for example, the city of Mikkeli or Porvoo, Haataja estimates.
Sustainable energy production
A nominal 1 GWp of solar energy can produce approximately 1 TWh of power in a year. This one-year energy production decreases CO2 emissions on average by 186,000 tCO2 over the year1. One of the projects is underway at Kristiinankaupunki. In that town, the calculated carbon dioxide reduction during the first year will average 11,833 tCO2, which corresponds to the annual emissions of approximately 5,600 passenger cars2.
The future projects will carefully investigate their effects on e.g. the biodiversity of the locations. The projects want to be efficient while they at the same time minimise the possible harmful impacts on the land areas.
– It is great to work together with another domestic developer to increase renewable energy production in Finland. Solar parks also create new opportunities for local industry and investments, as businesses find their way to the vicinity of renewable energy production. At the same time, we are able to create steady profits for landowners when they rent their lands and let the lands become solar power production sites. Cooperation with municipalities and landowners is an important part of our way of working, says Lauri Solin, who is in charge of Solmar’s project development and has over 20 years of experience in renewable energy projects.
– Despite the changing seasons, it pays to produce solar power in Finland as well, because the annual solar irradiance in Southern Finland, for example, is at the same level as in Central Europe. We want to play a part in sustainable energy production, and I believe that utility-scale solar parks will play an important role in raising the self-sufficiency of Finnish electricity production, continues Jari Marttinen, Solmar’s Executive Director.
For Korkia, this is the first major investment in domestic solar energy. Korkia’s renewable energy project base is notable, totaling more than 6 GW. In addition to Finland, Korkia has similar projects in e.g. Great Britain, Canada, Spain and Sweden.
Korkia is an investor in renewable energy and expert in sustainable growth. We develop solar and wind energy in cooperation with local developers. To our investor, corporate and institutional clients, we offer alternative investment opportunities, asset management and management consulting. Our international team consists of 60 experts in finance, renewable energy and sustainable growth both in Finland and abroad. There is no need to choose between sustainability and growth. We combine them.
