Finland’s solar plants grow rapidly as giant projects emerge

Finland’s solar power plants are expanding rapidly, with several facilities of more than 100 megawatts already operating or in development, Yle reports. The Isosuo plant in Utajärvi was Finland’s first facility to exceed 100 megawatts.

Construction of the plant took about two years, beginning in winter 2024 and finishing in spring 2026. Its roughly 170,000 panels have a capacity of more than 100 megawatts.

Built on a former peat production area, Isosuo also includes a large electricity storage facility. The energy complex cost more than 80 million euros.

Isosuo was Finland’s largest solar plant for only a few months. Taaleri Energy’s approximately 130-megawatt Hallanvahti plant in Joroinen, Northern Savonia, was commissioned during the summer. Helen’s more than 200-megawatt plant in Kalanti, Uusikaupunki, has also been completed.

Isosuo is expected to produce nearly 100 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. Skarta Energy aims to sell the output to companies through long-term power purchase agreements, according to chief executive Ville Ojanen.

Under such an agreement, the company paying for the electricity ensures that the contracted amount is produced into the national grid, increasingly using renewable energy.

For now, Isosuo’s electricity goes directly into the grid for use in Finland. Its annual output of 97 gigawatt-hours corresponds to the calculated yearly electricity consumption of about 12,000 households, assuming each uses approximately 8,000 kilowatt-hours.

Solar power production is concentrated in the spring and summer, although the comparison uses calculated figures for the full year.

Large energy projects are driving demand

The development of solar power is now resembling the rapid growth of wind power about a decade ago, with improving technology and quickly expanding plant sizes.

The largest planned solar plant is UPM Solar’s project in Kouvola, which could have a capacity of up to 700 megawatts and cover nearly 1,000 hectares. It would be significantly larger than any existing Finnish hydropower plant or wind power area.

Ojanen said data centres and hydrogen projects are among the main drivers of solar power development.

“The industry follows the demand that large projects are now increasing. Finland has enough space to build renewable energy,” he said.

According to the Finnish Renewables Association, Finland’s largest solar plant in 2023 was the 13-megawatt Juurakko plant in Kalajoki. The next-largest plants had capacities of just over five megawatts.

More than 100-megawatt plants, including Isosuo and Hallanvahti, have already been commissioned this year. The opening of the more than 200-megawatt solar plant in Kalanti is scheduled for next week.