Content Summary Introduction Background Changes in the operating environment Main grid development plan A summary of main grid investments 1 Main grid development plan 2019–2030 Fingrid Delivers. Responsibly. Main grid development plan Content Summary Introduction Background Changes in the operating environment Main grid development plan A summary of main grid investments 2 Contents The power system revolution poses a challenge for the design of the main grid 3 Development of the regional grid 41 The Lapland planning area 42 Summary 4 The Sea-Lapland planning area 44 The Oulu region planning area 46 Introduction 7 The Kainuu planning area 48 The Ostrobothnia planning area 50 Changes in the operating environment and future outlooks 8 The Central Finland planning area 52 Climate Change Mitigation 9 The Savonia-Karelia planning area 54 Development prospects of electricity consumption 10 The Pori and Rauma region planning area 56 Development prospects for electricity generation and storage 13 The Häme planning area 58 Forecasts 15 The Southwest Finland planning area 60 The Southeast Finland planning area 62 Background of the development plan 16 The Uusimaa planning area 64 Development of the main grid 17 Fingrid’s main grid and the Finnish electricity transmission system 18 A summary of main grid investments 66 Corporate responsibility 19 Grid development process 24 Maintenance of the main grid 30 Technological choices of the electricity transmission system 32 Fingrid’s ten-year main grid development plan 35 Development of the main power transmission grid 36 Development of cross-border capacity 38 Main grid development plan Content Summary Introduction Background Changes in the operating environment Main grid development plan A summary of main grid investments 3 The power system revolution poses a challenge for the planning of the main grid The previous few years have been extraordinary for main to the line that no longer carries meshed transfers. In addition to grid planners. Investigations on new wind power connections our customers, it is vital that we have smooth cooperation with are continuously performed and updated. The magnitude of our neighbouring countries’ TSOs. The dialogues we have had power being planned to be connected the grid, even to an clearly indicate that these DSOs too have their own challenges, individual substation, may correspond to a nuclear power plant the solving of which often takes precedence to new cross-border in many parts of the grid. Maintaining situational awareness alone connections. Moreover, the cost allocation for cross-border lines poses a great challenge, as Fingrid tracks the stages of different has proved to be a fairly challenging task. connection projects and their probability of becoming actualised. Although a large number of strengthening projects are now And it is not just a question of finding a suitable connection underway in the main grid, our yearly investments approximately points from the existing grid – we need entirely new 110 kV correspond to our yearly depreciations. Furthermore, the costs of substations, new transformers or entire transformer substations the projects are distributed over a long period in our tariffs, with between 110 kV and 400 kV, new 400 kV transmission lines the average repayment time of some 20 years for substations to guarantee that Finland remains as one bidding zone in the and some 30 years for transmission lines. Therefore, there is electricity market, and new cross-border connections to act no significant pressure to change the main grid tariff. However, as buffers for the varying production. It is no longer possible the exceptionally high number of projects causes challenges for a single designer to design an individual connection or for for putting the plans into practice. We strive to accelerate the a network operator to design their network in isolation, since implementation by creating a readiness to proceed while the everything is more and more interconnected and the electricity investment decision is still being processed. This is achieved by system must be developed as a whole. The task will be further acquiring land for substations and carrying out environmental complicated in the future, as the electricity system will become studies for transmission lines. We also want the full support and increasingly intertwined with the overall energy system in which assistance of our customers and stakeholders for the rational electricity is transformed into heat and back, for example. On development of the main grid, which is why we describe our the other hand, this so-called sector coupling offers alternatives needs as early as possible. This main grid development plan for network investments, if transformations and storage can be will be updated every two years, but we are also engaged in achieved in a geographically and temporally suitable way. continuous dialogue with our stakeholders on individual planning Therefore, it is increasingly important to collaborate with areas and projects. So, let’s move openly towards a clean our customers – especially when new transformer stations electricity system! substantially change the way the 110 kV network is used and can even lead to changes in the ownership of the network. We have been able to successfully agree upon cases in which the connecting party first constructs a radial line for their connection, but the line later becomes a part of the meshed main grid. Jussi Jyrinsalo Occasionally, a main grid line has been transferred to a DSO to be used as a radial line, enabling the connection of wind power Senior Vice President, Grid Services and Planning Main grid development plan Content Summary Introduction Background Changes in the operating environment Main grid development plan A summary of main grid investments 4 Summary Development of the main grid to meet the needs of the end of the next decade. Climate change mitigation requires swift customers and society is one of the core tasks of Fingrid Oyj, action. Consequently, the energy sector plays a key role in this. the company responsible for the power transmission system The change happening in the electricity production structu- “Continuous in Finland. Continuous development of the main grid ensures re is one of the key development drivers of Fingrid’s main grid that the electricity transmission grid and the entire electricity development. The central trends are an increase in weather-de- development of system fulfil the requirements set for them in a changing ope- pendent production, new, large nuclear power plant units, a dec- rating environment. rease in the amount of adjustable production, and the geographic the main grid The main grid development plan presents the development placement of new production in the main grid. In addition, the needs of Fingrid’s main grid and planned investments for the forecasts suggest that climate change mitigation will lead to an ensures that next ten years or so. The development plan is based on regional increase in electricity consumption, as transport, industry and the electricity grid plans compiled by Fingrid in cooperation with its customers, heating become more and more powered by electricity. However, and it is coordinated with the development plan for the Baltic this will require the development of new technologies and the full transmission grid Sea region as well as the Ten-Year Network Development Plan potential will not be fully realised in the coming decade. (TYNDP) covering the entire European Union. At present, wind power is the most cost-effective way for and the entire The drawing up of a grid development plan is laid down in building new electricity production in the Nordic countries. Much the Finnish Electricity Market Act and the plan will be updated of the new wind power production seems to be constructed in system fulfil the every two years. The core content of the main grid development northern Finland. The profitability of traditional electricity ge- plan shall be a description of how, and using what kind of in- neration has weakened significantly, which has resulted in the quality require- vestments, the responsibility for main grid development and the exit of adjustable production capacity from the market espe- quality requirements of main grid operations are to be fulfilled. cially in southern Finland. While carbon dioxide emissions will ments set for decrease over time, electricity transmission needs will increase, them in a chan- CHANGES IN THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT and so will the risk of a temporary electricity shortage. At the same time, society is becoming more electrified and electricity ging operating At this time, the electricity system is undergoing an unprece- dependence is increasing. As a result, the power system of the dented change as the electricity production structure is rapidly future is expected to provide even greater reliability in order to environment.” becoming carbon-neutral and simultaneously more variable safeguard the vital functions of society. From the viewpoint of according to the weather. At the same time, the volatility of grid development, the decrease in adjustable capacity empha- the price of electricity increases. The EU has set an emissions sises the need for cross-border transmission capacity and for reduction target of more than 40% by 2030. As part of this ob- the regulating potential provided by demand-side management jective, Finland has decided to abandon the use of coal by the and electricity storage techniques. Main grid development plan Content Summary Introduction Background Changes in the operating environment Main grid development plan A summary of main grid investments 5 The challenge faced by the development of the main grid is needs between countries and regions, which means that model- The investment level corresponds to Fingrid’s annual deprecia- the long implementation time of transmission lines and subst- ling of the cross-border electricity market is an important tool in tions. In the future, Fingrid’s investments in the main grid will in- ations with relation to the actualisation time of new production the design of the main power transmission grid.