The electricity sector in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
relies on
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
,
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
,
cogeneration
Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.
Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...
and electricity import from neighboring countries. Finland has the highest per-capita electricity consumption in the EU. Co-generation of heat and electricity for industry process heat and district heating is common. Finland is one of the last countries in the world still
burning peat.
As part of the
energy transition
An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...
Finland has been replacing electricity generation from
fossil fuels
A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...
with nuclear power and renewables.
Wind power
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...
in particular has grown to be a significant part of electricity generation.
A fifth nuclear reactor,
Olkiluoto 3 was commissioned in 2023 and increased nuclear power generation by over 50%.
Finland is part of the
synchronous grid of Northern Europe.
Consumption and import
Industry was the majority consumer of electricity between 1990 and 2005 with 52-54% of total consumption. The forest industry alone consumed 30-32%.
[Statistic 3.1, Year book 2006, Tilastokeskus]
Between 2000 and 2006, up to 7 TWh per year was imported from Sweden and up to 11.5 TWh from Russia. Net imports during this time varied between 7 TWh to Sweden and 7 TWh from Sweden, and 4 to 11 TWh from Russia. Since 2007, some electricity has also been imported from Estonia.
In 2012, most of the imports were from Sweden (14.4 TWh net import) with Russia also contributing to the net imbalance (4.4 TWh import only), while exports to Estonia were larger than imports (1.1 TWh net export).
In 2022, after the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, imports from Russia ended. Yearly net import was down 5 TWh as a result.
Preliminary data
Capacity
, the total capacity of power generation in Finland is 19.7 GW. However, not all of that is available at the same time and an increasing amount is intermittent generation, mostly from wind power (see below).
Grid batteries are being installed, such as the 60 MWh Simojoki BESS.
The national grid operator Fingrid, together with TSOs from other Nordic countries, produces yearly estimates about the availability of power in the winter demand peak. In 2019-2020 they estimated a peak Finnish demand of 15.3 GW, during which Finland would have 11.9 GW of production capacity, not including capacity reserves. That would have meant a shortfall of 3.4 GW to be imported from neighbors. Due to a mild winter and industrial strikes the actual demand peak was only 12.4 GW and availability was never in question. No capacity reserve was activated.
In 2022-23, with imports from Russia ended, there were concerns about availability while Olkiluoto 3 was still in testing. Fingrid created a voluntary support mechanism of 500 MW of demand response, which did not need to be called upon. For 2023-24, the Energy Authority found that no capacity reserve was needed with OL3 in operation.
Mode of production
Preliminary data
Fossil fuels
Except for
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
, which is variously classed as either a fossil fuel or a slow-renewable fuel, Finland imports all the fossil fuels used for electricity production. Coal and natural gas account for most of the production, with some oil generators acting mostly as reserve. The use of fossil fuels has fallen from highs over 30% in 2003-2004 to 20% or below in 2012-2014. By 2020 the share was closer to 10%. This is largely a consequence of cheap imported electricity, although domestic renewables have also increased in their share of production.
In 2019 the parliament passed a law to ban the use of coal for energy production by May 1, 2029. there are no plans to ban other fossil fuels. Despite popular support for banning the use of peat, there is only a commitment to halve its use by 2030. However, it is estimated that market forces will reduce peat's energy use to a third of its 2019 level by 2025.
Nuclear power
Renewable energy
Between 2005-2014,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
produced 25-30% of electricity as a percentage of demand from
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. The largest source was
hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
(15-20%) which fluctuates yearly depending on rainfall, causing the share of renewable generation to also vary. Other major renewable sources were wood-based energy resources like
black liquor from the forest industry, accounting for approximately 12% on average.
In recent years wind power (see below) has grown to surpass hydro and renewable electricity altogether has reached 50% of demand. Solar power has also started to contribute.
Wind power
Companies
Production
Major producers in Finland include:
Fortum
Fortum Oyj is a Finland, Finnish Government of Finland, state-owned energy company located in Espoo, Finland. It mainly focuses on the Nordic countries, Nordic region. Fortum operates power plants, including co-generation plants, and generate ...
,
Pohjolan Voima,
Teollisuuden Voima
Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO; , Industrial Power Corporation) is a Finnish nuclear power company owned by a consortium of power and industrial companies.
The biggest shareholders are Pohjolan Voima and Fortum.
Olkiluoto
The company operates ...
and
Helsingin Energia.
Market
Nord Pool Spot
Nord Pool AS is a pan-European power exchange. Nord Pool has its main office in Oslo and further offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, lar ...
is the shared power market for Finland and nearby countries.
Transmission
Fingrid Oyj is a
Finnish national
electricity transmission grid operator.
Distribution
Major
distributors
A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time.
Design
A ...
are:
Helen Oy,
Caruna and
Elenia. Other companies are (
Savo
Savo may refer to:
Languages
* Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savo, Finland
* Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo
People
* Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of ...
), Pohjois-Karjalan Sähkö (
Northern Karelia
North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, Northern Savonia, North Savo, Southern Savonia, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Kare ...
, Järvi-Suomen Energia (
Central Finland
Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...
), Kymenlaakson Sähkö (
Kymenlaakso
Kymenlaakso (; ; "Kymi River, Kymi/Kymmene Valley") is a Regions of Finland, region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, Southern Savonia, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia (Leningrad Oblast). Its name means lit ...
) and Loiste (
Kajaani
Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...
and
Sotkamo).
Caruna in the south of Finland is owned mostly (80%) by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n and
Dutch holding and property companies. In 2017 Caruna's turn-over was €145 million and state tax rate 4% (€6 million). In 2017 Caruna paid its stakeholders 8.17% interest (77 million) while market loans were 1.5–3 % interest.
[Hallitus antaa Carunan verovälttelyn jatkua](_blank)
Finnwatch 26/10/2018 Company interest cost were reduced from the taxable income based on
Sipilä Cabinet taxation rules.
Politics
In 2016 there has been renewed discussion about Finland's energy policy. Finland imports over 20% of the electricity used at peak usage. For example, in the hour between 17-18 on January 7, 2016, during a period of extreme cold, Finland imported 4,300 MW (28.5%) out of a record 15,100 MW of total usage (average over 1 hour). Multiple delays in the construction of the third reactor at the
Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant
The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (, ) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), and is located on Olkiluoto Island, on th ...
(1,600 MW) exacerbated the domestic energy production deficit, until finally starting regular production in April 2023. A consortium of Finnish industry and power companies called
Fennovoima has applied and been granted a permission to build another
new nuclear power plant, delivered by Russia's
Rosatom
State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (commonly referred to as Rosatom rus, Росатом, p=rosˈatəm}), also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, (), or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian State corporation (Russia), sta ...
, which also has a 1/3 stake on the power plant. This has caused some concern among observers about Russia being able to manipulate Nordic electricity prices or use the power plant as a leverage in conflict situations. The plant was estimated to be operational by 2024 and projected to produce 1,200 MW of electricity, but all work was stopped in 2022 due to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
The
Finnish Security Intelligence Service
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (, ; , ), formerly the Finnish Security Police and Finnish Security Intelligence Service, is the Security agency, security and intelligence agency of Finland in charge of national security, such as Co ...
(Supo) indicated in 2016 that foreign intelligence activity in Finland was aimed at influencing decision-making in energy policy.
See also
*
Energy in Finland
*
Nordic energy market
The Nordic electricity market is a common market for electricity in the Nordic countries. It is one of the first free electric-energy markets in Europe and is traded in NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe and Nord Pool Spot. In 2003, the largest marke ...
*
Economy of Finland
References
{{Europe topic, Electricity sector in