Fortum and Uniper plan 380MW onshore wind hub in Finland

Fortum and Uniper plan to build 380MW of new wind power capacity in western Finland – their first project since they agreed to work together on renewable energy development, construction and asset management.

They aim to start civil works for the 380MW Pjelax-Böle & Kristinestad Norr Pjelax-Böle & Kristinestad Norr (380MW) OnshoreNärpes and Kristinestad, Finland, Europe Click to see full details wind farm complex in Närpes and in Kristinestad, Finland in January 2022, ahead of full commissioning by the second quarter of 2024 at the latest.

The projects will include 56 wind turbines, indicating an average power rating of 6.7MW.

However, despite having selected a wind turbine supplier, the developers would not disclose what turbines will be used at the sites. They have also not revealed how the 380MW capacity will be split between the Pjelax-Böle and Kristinestad Norr wind farms.

Finnish state-owned developer Fortum will own a 60% stake in the wind farms and Finnish utility Helen will own 40% of the projects and buy approximately half of their power. German utility Uniper will not own either of the projects, but will help with construction, asset management and operations and maintenance (O&M).

Fortum and Uniper expect the wind farm complex to have annual power generation of approximately 1.1TWh.

They had announced their intention to work together on onshore wind and solar development in December 2020. They aim to build 1.5-2.5GW of new wind and solar capacity in Europe by 2025.

Enefit in Finland

Meanwhile, Enefit Energy has reached a final investment decision on the 72MW Tolpanvaara Tolpanvaara (72MW) OnshorePudasjärvi, Finland, Europe Click to see full details wind farm in northern Finland – its first investment in the country.

It had acquired the project from Finnish forest manager Metsähallitus in 2020.

Enefit Energy – the international arm of Estonian state-owned Eesti Energia – expects construction of the wind farm to cost €82.9 million.

The wind farm will consist of 13 of Nordex’s turbines, and Enefit expects it to produce 250GWh per year.

Construction is due to start in Q1 2022, and the wind farm is due online by the end of 2023.