07.08.2018
Finnish solar electricity production capacity connected to the electrical grid grew 2.5 fold during 2017, reaching almost 70 MW. Small scale production capacity, which means under one MW units, recorded a growth of 143 % and accounted for 66 MW of the total capacity. When compared to 2016, the small scale solar electricity production capacity was only 27 MW, which means an increase of almost 40 MW during 2017. If the growth continues at the same level, Finland will have over 100 MW production capacity in 2018.
Finnish industries, shopping centres and retail stores are increasingly investing to solar energy. An example of companies activating with solar energy is food product company Atria. The company will soon complete its first industrial scale solar farm to its Nurmo production plant. The farm will include 24 000 panels with an annual forecasted production of 5 600 MWh, which will cover about five percent of the plant’s energy need.
Kesko has been a forerunner in the retail sector and it has installed solar panels to 15 roofs of its K-Supermarket and Citymarket stores. Fortum recently announced a deal of installing solar electricity systems to the roofs of 40 retail stores of S Group. Other on-going projects include installations to Halpahalli and Tokmanni stores, as well as solar power investments by industrial companies Cargotec, Metso, Uponor, and Valmet. (Sources: Tekniikka & Talous 18.6.2018 & 27.6.2018)