Summary

The target in the Action Plan for Renewable Energy for wind energy deployment is set at 500 MW in 2010. The wind energy production would reach 1.1 TWh/a in. In 2002 the installed wind capacity in Finland was 40 MW and the use was 63 GWh.

The turbines now in operation in Finland are from Denmark and Germany and one from Finland. Large wind turbines have for a long time been preferred, mainly due to difficult siting in the complex coastal landscape. The projects planned to be constructed in 2003 use turbines with a power rating from 1 MW to 2.5 MW. The turbines installed in the harsh climate of northern Finland are protected with ice-preventive equipment. The same solution is tested at certain sites in southern Finland, which have a public safety concern due to occasional icing. Experience shows that the higher the tower and the closer to sea the turbines are, the more prone they are to occasional icing.




Figure 1. Development of wind energy production and installed capacity in Finland from 1992 to 2002.

Source: http://www.ieawind.org/iea_wind_pdf/2001%20annual.pdf

Energy market

Finland was the third country in Europe after Britain and Norway to initiate the opening-up of its electricity market to competition. The liberalisation of the electricity market in Finland started in 1995 and was completed in 1998. Through the new Electricity Market Act, all consumers can freely purchase their electricity from the power company of their choice. This new competition environment has given the energy utilities an incentive to establish trademarks and develop brands. Environmental aspects have been one factor in branding of electricity products.

Electricity makes up 25% of Finland's total energy consumption (79.2 TWh), the industry consuming more than half of this amount. Finland's total domestic electricity production amounted to 67.3 TWh in 2000. Of this amount, some 23.5 TWh was electricity from renewable energy sources and 24.4 TWh CHP electricity. These figures are, however, partly overlapping: approximately 8 TWh of electricity was produced in biomass CHP plants. Most of the electricity from renewable energy sources consists of hydropower (14.4 TWh in 2000) and biomass CHP. Most of the biomassbased CHP was produced in industrial power plants, especially in forest industry.

Source: http://www.tekes.fi/opet/pdf/OPET_report9.pdf

Legal situation

Finnish legislation affecting building of wind-power is fairly new. Land Use and Building legislation came into force in 1.1.2000 and Environmental Protection Act in 1.3.2000. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been included in The Finnish legislation since 1999 and renewed Nature protection law since 1997.

In Finland the same environmental rules and regulations apply to wind-powered electricity turbines as for any other building projects. Executing wind power project can, depending on location, necessitate environmental permit, according to the Environmental Protection Act. Moreover, in offshore projects also the Water Act is applied and building permit is needed, because it regulates building in water areas. These licences and permits are subjects to requirements for impact assessment.

In addition, if a wind power project is considered to have significant environmental impacts, environmental impact assessment may still be requested and carried out according to the law. At least two main types of criteria should be used when deciding whether to apply EIA on a wind power project: the suitability of the project area and the number and/or effect of the planned mills.

Land Use and Building Act set the frame for wind power projects as it does for any other projects. The land use planning system comprises national land use guidelines, in addition to the regional land use plan, the local master plan and the local detailed plan. The regional plan and the local master plan are more generally featured. The local detailed city plan is the most detailed. The spatial planning system is hierarchical, the more generally featured plan works as a guideline for the more detailed plan.

Generally featured plan focuses on finding the most suitable regions for wind-power production where as the actualization of the project is carried out in accordance with local detailed plan and permits.

Acceptance among the population

In Finland there has not made any large scale attitude survey concerning wind energy production and its acceptance among the population. Local surveys made in possible wind energy production regions have shown marked difference between people representing different interest groups.

Impacts in the economy

For some time, the Finnish industry has been able to produce main components, such as gearboxes and induction generators, as well as materials like steel plates and glass-fiber for the main wind turbine manufacturers. The industry has been successful in supplying components to mediumsized wind turbines up to 1 MW, and the industry is developing its product range to also fit large-scale turbines.

Ablade-heating system for wind turbines operating under icy conditions was released as a commercial product in 1998. It has been developed mainly for the domestic market but also for export.

In spring 2001, a new Finnish manufacturer, WinWinD, presented its first prototype, which is now in operation in Oulu. The turbine has a rated power of 1 MW and will operate at variable speeds. It has a one-stage planetary gearbox and a permanent magnet generator. The aim is to develop the concept further into a 3.5 MW turbine for offshore applications.

The export of Finnish wind power technology for year 2010 has been estimated based on the global wind power market forecasts and the development of Finnish market share in the markets. In a "business-as-usual" strategy, no new products or concepts are sought for and the goal is to keep the present market share in the present products. Under these circumtances the export in year 2010 would be 1.2 billion €.

Source: http://www.ieawind.org/iea_wind_pdf/2001%20annual.pdf
http://www.vtt.fi/pro/climtech/material/loppuraportti/2osa.pdf

Problems

No information available at the moment.

Statistics

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