Wind Energy In a state of slumber

In the offshore Kemi Ajos in the Gulf of Bothnia, the rotor for a 3 MW turbine from WinWind is lifted into position. Photo: WinWind

n the utilization of renewable energies, Finland – bines. The Finnish Wind Power Association – with the For the first time, like – is regarded as a model country in interesting name Suomen Tuulivoimayhdistys ry – Ithe EU. According to Eurostat data, the propor- holds politics responsible for this situation. In an in- tion of renewable energies in the overall energy con- terview with SUN & WIND ENERGY, the Executive Di- operators in Finland sumption in Finland amounted to 30.5 % last year. rector Anni Mikkonen explaines why: “The main rea- This has put within reach the target of 38 % by 2020 son has been a lack of political will and the lack of suf- can hope for a cost- that has been specified for Finland. ficient funding. So far, most of the installed capacity covering feed‑in tariff. In this context, it helps that the Finnish govern- has been built with the help of investment subsidies, ment made support for renewable energy sources the which have been scarce in some years”. In fact, the Nonetheless, the subject of a package of obligations last year. For this, Finnish government supported only bioenergy for the government wants to spend up to € 327 million years and started to take care of the other renewable Finnish Wind Power per year. A large part of this will go to wind power and energies only at a very late point in time: “The design Association is worried might wake this energy source from its previous slum- of efficient support systems for wind energy and oth- ber in Finland, since the high fraction of renewable er renewable energy sources was started as late as about whether the energies has so far largely been due to the use of peat the autumn of 2008. The feed-in tariff was accepted in combined heat and power stations. Peat is consid- in the parliament in December 2010 and now we are 20-20 targets will be ered a regenerative resource in Finland. The develop- waiting for notification from the EU. The EU has to ac- reached. ment of wind power is still in its infancy, with a total cept the tariff level before the law can be adopted”, installed capacity of only about 200 MW from 130 tur- explained Mikkonen.

170 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2011 Feed-in tariff and starter bonus Wind energy in Finland from 1992 to 2010

Just how late the responsible persons in politics are is also shown by the Finnish Wind Atlas. It was only in 2008 that the Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy commissioned the Finnish Meteorological Institute to ascertain the data. The atlas was published at the end of 2009. According to the specifications from the government, the dominance of bioenergy and com- bined heat and power generation will remain largely unchallenged, as will the increased use of nuclear ener- gy in Finland. Nevertheless, wind power will profit, be- cause it can expect a cost-covering feed-in tariff for the first time. Provided the EU gives its consent, an irrevo- cable tariff of 8.35 €-ct/kWh will be granted for twelve years. Furthermore, there will be a starter bonus of an additional 2.18 €-ct/kWh for those turbines that are connected to the grid within two years of the date the law enters into force. This higher tariff of 10.53 €-ct/kWh will be granted for three years; thereafter, the standard tariff will be paid. This raises hopes of an increased de- velopment of wind power. Compared to the country’s 130 wind turbines with a capacity of 197 MW were connected to the grid in Finland low population of just a little over five million, the ex- as of January 2011. In 2009, wind turbines supplied more than 277 GWh, which pected wind energy boom will not be that small. “In corresponds to 0.3 % of the Finnish electricity demand. 2011 the growth rate will still be modest”, said Graphic: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Mikkonen. “After that we are expecting the annual in- stalled capacity to be between 100 and 300 MW for the tegrated power train. Not without reason, it calls to next years.” mind the Multibrid concept. Both developments have their roots in the German turbine developer Aerodyn. Only partly satisfied The German engineer Georg Böhmeke first designed his turbines at Aerodyn before going to Finland for If these expectations are fulfilled, this would be a several years. small revolution for the northernmost EU member and are also well-established on country. Mini installation figures such as 6 MW in the Finnish market – in the case of these companies, 2009 or 50 MW in 2010 will then be a thing of the however, the large proportion of older, smaller tur- past. The new wind atlas previously mentioned re- bines with rated capacities of less than 1 MW is strik- veals good wind conditions of 9 to 10 m/s on average ing. The manufacturer Nordtank, which has long since along a narrow coastal strip in the south and west of been acquired by Vestas, is also strongly represent- Finland. An estimated 80 % of Finnish territory can be ed. Thus, a tour of Finnish wind power sites soon be- regarded as poor locations for wind power, with aver- comes a nostalgic event for wind energy enthusi- age wind speeds of about 5 m/s. asts. There are no dominating market players in Fin- The Finnish Wind Power Association is only part- land. The fairly small Finnish supplier WinWind is, of ly satisfied with the efforts of the government, as course, doing well in its home country. It has installed Mikkonen emphasizes: “The government is doing its flagship turbine a number of times, a 3 MW tur- quite a lot: designing and accepting the feed-in tariff bine using permanent magnet technology and an in- and trying to simplify the spatial planning.” But she

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Sun & Wind Energy 3/2011 171 Wind Energy Finland

does not want to leave it at that without reservation: 30 to 40 km off the coast, the turbines can be in- “The feed-in tariff system should be simplified. Now stalled in waters between 5 and 20 metres deep. The the money is running through the governmental only serious challenge is the masses of ice in the win- budget, which is not a good option.” In her opinion, ter. The German developers of wind farms in the North offshore development in particular is still exposed to Sea can only dream of such conditions. difficult economic conditions, which puts achieving the 20-20 targets of the EU into jeopardy. “The feed- Difficult market in the North in tariff level is enough for onshore projects, but not enough for offshore projects. In our opinion we can But however good the technical conditions may be – not reach the 2020 targets. So another support mech- in the eyes of the investors, manufacturers and finan- anism like a higher tariff or investment subsidies ciers, the current Scandinavian offshore markets rank should be brought in. Also, the spatial planning and far behind others. In the market survey 2010 from the environmental impact assessment processes should consulting company KPMG, market players were be designed to make the development of wind farms asked which offshore markets offered good or poor easier.” conditions for profitability. Denmark ranked seventh out of nine, and Sweden reached only the bottom po- The cradle of sition with the classification “least favourable condi- tions”. Finland was not asked about in the survey be- The Finnish coast provides especially favourable con- cause of the currently small market volume. This poor ditions for offshore wind energy. It is not without rea- result for OWFs in Denmark and Sweden corresponds son that the history of offshore wind farms (OWF) be- with a second survey, in which the KPMG researchers gan in Scandinavia – to be more precise: in the Baltic asked market participants for an assessment of the Sea. Shallow waters, the proximity to the shore and countries’ readiness to support offshore wind energy. favourable ground characteristics are good starting Denmark and Sweden did not score well here either. conditions for profitable OWFs. Therefore, the three A look at the feed-in tariff systems shows why. At Scandinavian countries bordering on the Baltic Sea present, the tariffs for offshore wind power are hold leading positions in the international ranking of 6.76 €-ct/kWh in Sweden and 8.4 €-ct/kWh in Den- the realized installations. With an offshore capacity mark. This is up to 50 % below the tariffs of other Eu- of 854 MW, Denmark ranks second in the world be- ropean countries. For comparison: in the UK, the cur- hind the UK. Sweden ranks fifth with 164 MW, and rent tariff is about 18 €-ct/kWh. With the tariffs that Finland ranks seventh with 26 MW. have now been passed, Finland is also at the bottom The largest OWF at present, with 300 turbines end in the European comparison. “The market envi- and a total capacity of 1,500 MW, is being planned by ronment in Scandinavia is difficult”, said one market Wind farm in Oulu, Finland the German company wpd Offshore GmbH in the Gulf participant to S&WE – meaning that there are certain- Photo: WinWind of Bothnia. The conditions are ideal: at a distance of ly more profitable destinations. Jörn Iken

Further information: KPMG: www.kpmg.de Suomen Tuulivoimayhdistys ry (Finnish Wind Power Association): www.tuulivoimayhdistys.fi VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: www.vtt.fi WinWind Oy: www.winwind.com

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