Power company Helsinki Energy to set up two offshore wind parks

Wind turbines off Helsinki not completely ruled out

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In January 2008, the City of Helsinki made a decision to increase its share of renewable energy sources to 20 per cent by 2020.
      At present, the capital uses mostly coal and natural gas, while only less than 10 per cent of Helsinki Energy’s production is based on renewable energy sources.
      Another goal is to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 per cent from the level of 1990.
      Helsinki intends to reach the goals by investing in wind energy.
      At the beginning of the next decade, the share of wind power in Helsinki’s energy production will be more than 12 per cent, if the plans for two new wind power parks turn into feasible projects.
     
Suomen Merituuli, a company co-owned by Helsinki Energy and the South Ostrobothnian energy company Etelä-Pohjanmaan Voima, intends to build two wind parks of 500-1,000 megawatts in Siipyy in the Gulf of Bothnia and in Inkoo in the Gulf of Finland.
      Half of the electricity produced by these new power plants would be transmitted to Helsinki, while the remaining half would go to Etelä-Pohjanmaan Voima’s 22 energy companies.
      If the permits are granted, the new power stations will be completed at the beginning of the 2010s.
      However, the Siipyy and Inkoo projects alone will not be able to generate enough wind energy in order to achieve the goal set for the company.
      ”These areas were smaller than we had planned. We are still looking for further land areas suitable for wind power”, says Tomi Mäkipelto, the Managing Director of Suomen Merituuli.
      Possibilities to build a wind park off Helsinki are also being explored.
      ”As for wind conditions, the entire Gulf of Finland is a potential area”, notes Mäkipelto.
     
According to a recent report prepared by the three large political parties in Helsinki, the National Coalition, The Green League, and the Social Democrats, in cooperation with the Helsinki mayors, the primary way to reach the goal set for the capital is wind power.
      If Suomen Merituuli manages to set up its planned wind power stations, the share of wind energy would rise to 12 per cent of all energy production in the capital.
      ”It came as a surprise to me that the role of wind power was so significant”, said Risto Rautava (National Coalition) who led the preparations of the report.
     
Another plan in Helsinki has been adding biomass to fossil fuels in the Hanasaari and Salmisaari power plants. However, this would represent only 1.5 per cent of all energy production in Helsinki.
      With the help of wind power, adding of biomass, and the more intensive use of hydropower Helsinki could increase its share of renewable energy sources to 17.3 per cent at best.
     
In addition, the City of Helsinki, energy company Pohjolan Voima, and the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) began last year to design a power plant which would use wood, plants, and sorted garbage alongside with coal and natural gas to produce energy.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Major boom in wind power projects (2.9.2008)
  Climate change: two degrees to disaster (4.11.2008)
  Government hopes to cut energy consumption and increase use of renewables (7.11.2008)
  Greenpeace denounces Finland´s nuclear energy programme (17.9.2008)
  Renewable energy targets pose problems for cities (25.2.2008)

Links:
  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  Wind Power in Finland (Wikipedia)
  Finnish Wind Power Association (shows ongoing projects)

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