Invest in Finland

Investment aid amounting to EUR 5.1 million for the wind park to be built in the Summa factory area

12/03/2009

Haminan Energia Oy intends to build four 3 MW wind power stations in the Summa factory area. When completed, the wind park should increase the production of wind power in Finland by approx. 32,000 MWh per year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power production by approx. 26,000 tons a year. The total investment in the project amounts to EUR 16.9 million.

“The project will revitalise the economy. The town of Hamina has suffered since Stora Enso’s Summa factory finished operations in January last year. Now, new developments to emerge in the area within a short period of time include Haminan Energia Oy’s wind park, Winwind Oy’s wind power station plant and Google’s computer centre,” Minister Pekkarinen says. 

“In addition to helping the local economy, the wind park will also benefit Finland as a whole by reducing the bill Finland is paying for greenhouse gas emissions. At the emission allowance price of EUR 18, the investments will bring total savings amounting to almost EUR 0.5 million a year,” according to the Minister.

In the wind power survey carried out in 2005, the port area of Hamina was deemed to be both environmentally and technically suited for wind power production, but usage of the area at the time prevented implementation of wind power projects. The paper industry has now vacated the Summa factory area previously used by Stora Enso. Haminan Energia Oy’s goal is to implement the project as quickly as possible so that the power stations can enter production in the summer of 2010.  During the construction of the project, the impact on employment will be an estimated 900 man-years.  

The wind power stations for the wind park will be delivered by Winwind Oy, which will also build a new wind power station plant in the vicinity of the Port of Hamina. In the plant, the company will assemble 3 MW wind power stations for European markets. The production will be 160 units (500 MW) a year, which is almost four times the wind power capacity installed in Finland at the moment. A significant part of WinWind’s present subcontractor chain is located in Finland, and thus the plant will have a major impact on employment.

This year, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy has been allocated a total of approximately EUR 87 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency. This authorisation will evidently be used up as a result of the decisions to be made during this winter.

This year, the MEE’s appropriations for energy aid are threefold as compared to the situation at the beginning of 2008. As a result of the increase in appropriations, the Ministry has an opportunity to grant financing for larger projects than earlier and also to make larger individual aid decisions than before. In addition, a slight increase will be made in the proportion contributed towards the total expenses of the project if that will speed up the launch of the project.

In the climate and energy strategy the government published in November 2008, the goal was to increase the total wind power output from the current level of some 120 MW to approximately 2,000 MW by 2020. At that point, the annual power production by wind power would amount to approximately 6 terawatt-hours. At the same time, the government stated that, when constructing wind power, the goal would be to build large, uniform areas, i.e. wind parks.

Additional information
Jatta Jussila, Senior Adviser, MEE, tel. +358 10 606 4815