Finland: OX2 sells 42 MW wind farm to IKEA in Finland

An existing wind farm, situated on the coast outside Ajos in Kemi, will be renewed and expanded. At present, there are ten wind turbines located on artificial islands in the sea and along the shoreline at the site. OX2 will replace these with modern turbines and will build three additional onshore turbines, thereby more than doubling output and improving operational reliability. This means that the new wind farm will consist of 13 new wind turbines with an estimated output of approximately 160 GWh/year.

”We invest in renewable energy because we want to have a positive impact on the environment and to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. The new wind farm will mean we produce more renewable energy than all the energy we use in our buildings in Finland,” says Lars Midttun, IKEA Finland Country Manager.

Under the Acquisition Agreement, OX2 will now start construction of the project, and hand-over of the new wind farm to IKEA is planned for 2017. After the hand-over, OX2 will continue to be responsible for the commercial and technical management of the wind farm.

“This project is part of OX2’s expansion strategy to position itself on the global market. We have collaborated successfully with IKEA for many years, and we are now looking forward to constructing and delivering their first wind farm in Finland”, says Paul Stormoen, Managing Director of OX2 Wind.

The Acquisition Agreement for the Ajos wind farm represents the fourth contract between OX2 and IKEA, with a total capacity of 174 MW of wind power in the Nordic region.

Ajos wind farm

• OX2 signed an acquisition agreement for the existing wind farm from the Finnish wind power company, Innopower, in 2015.
• The new wind farm will consist of 8 Siemens SWT-130 3.3 MW wind turbines offshore, and 5 Siemens SWT-113 3.2 MW onshore (42.4 MW in total). The total height of the turbines will be around 150 m.
• The wind farm is expected to produce ca. 160 GWh/year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 32,000 households (5,000 kWh/year).
• At least 600-700 man-months of work will be generated during the construction period. During the operational phase, at least 4-5 man-years will be needed for service and maintenance for about 25 years, i.e. the full service-life of the wind farm.