Finnland - Wind energy manufacturing market on the rapid increase

The manufacture of wind generators and their components has been one of the most rapidly-growing sectors of industry with annual growth of about 25 percent a year. Finland uses less wind power than many other countries, but turnover in the industry that manufactures wind generators and components has doubled in just a couple of years.

The ABB factory in Pitäjänmäki in Helsinki manufactures generators and other components for wind turbine generators. The international engineering company now makes one in four of the world's wind generators. Riku Kytömäki of ABB says that demand is high, as wind generating capacity is growing in all continents.

Finland itself produces a smaller proportion of its electricity with wind energy than many other countries do. Wind power is a controversial source of energy, but regardless of what opinions people may have, manufacturers of the equipment are doing well, and exports are booming. Patrick Forstell, and expert of Finnish Technology Industries says that it is hard to find a field in the world in which growth would be as fast as in the wind power industry.

Finland does have a number of large wind power projects underway, and now the industry is waiting for government policy decisions on how to increase renewable energy, like wind power. In any case, Finnish manufacturers are expecting demand for wind power technology to grow; the number of jobs in the industry is expected to rise six-fold in the next decade.

Turnover of several Finnish companies in the field has doubled in the past year. The pace is so high that manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up. For instance, Patrick Forstell says that there is a shortage of certain components.