Enefit Green’s new wind farm in Finland delivered its first supply of electricity to the grid
Photo: Wind turbines at Tolpanvaara wind farm in northern Finland. Enefit Green
Today, the 24th of August, the first wind turbine started producing green energy at Tolpanvaara wind farm of Enefit Green in northern Finland. With its 13 wind turbines, the wind farm will start generating electricity at full capacity at the end of this year.
When all the wind turbines are in operation, the Tolpanvaara wind farm will generate around 250 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to cover the annual consumption of around 40,000 Finnish households. Every wind turbine undergoes testing and setup for the months leading up to the completion of the wind farm to ensure flawless functionality.
According to Lauri Ulm , Head of Wind Energy Operations at Enefit Green, Tolpanvaara is an important project as it is the first time that Enefit Green has its own renewable energy park in Finland. ‘Increasing the production of renewable energy is one of the main ways to get climate-friendly and affordable electricity, thus the new wind farm is a cause for celebration for Finns, Estonians and all other electricity consumers. More broadly, carbon-neutral power generation will contribute to the achievement of Europe's climate targets,’ said Lauri Ulm.
The wind farm will be located about 30 km from the town of Pudasjärvi, on a plot of land owned by the Finnish state and managed by Metsähallitus, the Finnish forest administration. As the area is used for forest management, there are no residences in the area of the wind farm, which means that disturbance caused to the public is minimal. Moreover, there is a good network of forest roads in the area, thanks to which fewer roads need to be built for the construction and maintenance of the wind farm. However, the wind farm will create new jobs for the builders and maintainers of the wind farm, and service opportunities for local undertakings.
Enefit Green is dedicating an investment of approximately €83 million towards the development of the wind farm. The investment will be covered to a large extent by long-term electricity purchase and sale contracts, made possible by consumers interested in renewable energy and the fixing of the terms and conditions of the electricity contract.
In 2020 Enefit Green took over the development of the Tolpanvaara Wind Farm from the previous owner of the project, the Finnish state-owned forest administration Metsähallitus. The investment decision to build the park was taken at the end of 2021 and the erection of the wind turbines started in May this year.