Finland to build two large-scale offshore wind farms

Finland wants to be completely carbon neutral by 2035 and has built a lot of onshore wind in the past ten years. Wind power is now 10 percent of Finland’s electricity, up from less than 1 percent a decade ago. By 2025 wind should meet at least 27 percent of Finland’s electricity needs. The country will reach 5 GW of capacity by year’s end, most of it onshore.

There is only one small-scale 42 MW nearshore wind farm in Finnish waters, the Tahkoluoto wind farm commissioned in 2017. The Finnish Government now wants to expand this wind farm with up to 45 turbines with a capacity of 11-20 MW each. In total this could take the capacity of Tahkoluoto up to 900 MW.

The other area, Korsnäs, is being pre-developed by Metsähallitus itself and located further north in the Bay of Bothnia. Originally the plans for the site foresaw a 1.3 GW wind farm. But the Government now has bigger plans for this zone and wants it to be able to have a capacity of up to 3 GW.

The development of offshore wind will play a key role in increasing the share of renewable energy in the Finnish energy mix and contribute greatly to reaching Finland’s carbon neutrality target. It will also help Finland on its way to becoming more self-sufficient in its electricity production.

WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu said: “Finland has been doing a great job with onshore wind and has a steady pipeline for the coming years. With its ambitious offshore wind plans now, Finland is setting out a clear blueprint to shift away from fossil fuels and go climate neutral by 2035.”