Finland looks for sharp increase in wind power

Finnish utilities, including Fortum, said on Tuesday they have started two different projects, planning to increase the Nordic country’s wind power production up to 30-fold in coming years.

Fortum said it had reserved two offshore areas in northwestern Finland for wind power plants, with total capacity seen at 1,150 to 1,300 MW.
Separately, two regional unitlies said they have started to seek for additional wind power capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 MW.

Finland’s total wind power capacity was 107 MW last year, producing 0.2 percent of the energy consumed in the country, Finnish wind power association said.

Fortum said the new wind farms could begin to generate electricity in 2014-2016.

“Our aim is to increase wind power production substantially by 2025… We are also interested in other offshore wind sites in Finland,” Arja Koski, an official responsible for Fortum’s wind power investments, said in a statement.

Reuters