Finland | Energy Forum pinpointed investment challenges
In collaboration with Business Joensuu, North Karelia Chamber of Commerce, and Regional Council of North Karelia, the EXPRESS project organized the Energy Forum on October 3rd, 2023. The Forum brought together over hundred energy experts to discuss the future prospects of the energy sector and hydrogen economy in North Karelia.
The event included a speech by the Minister of the Environment and Climate, Kai Mykkänen. The Finnish government aims to double electricity production over the next 15 years, and investments are being encouraged by streamlining project permits through a one-stop-shop model.
Participants at the Energy Forum were interested in how the government plans to promote East Finland's participation in this development and how the proposals from the report published in the spring, aimed at removing barriers to wind power construction, will be implemented. The Minister did not promise rapid concrete measures in his speech, but he assured that the region would not be left hanging. He stated that Eastern Finland will have its role in the energy transition, particularly in carbon dioxide reuse and capture related industries, such as fuel production or construction.
In addition to renewable energy production, the need for strengthening the capacity in the national grid was a focal point at the Energy Forum. Mika Simola from P2X Solutions Oy, which plans to build a hydrogen plant in Joensuu, mentioned that the size of the plant had to be reduced due to a bottleneck in planned electricity transmission. Simola was not the only representative of investors present who raised this issue. North Karelia was unexpectedly dropped from grid operator Fingrid's development plans for the national grid until 2033, sparking a lot of discussion in the region.
It is a chicken-and-egg problem, i.e., whether confirmed investment decisions are a prerequisite for strengthening the national grid or if the grid's capacity is a prerequisite for energy investments.
According to Aki Laurila, Planning Manager at Fingrid, the company currently does not see the need to strengthen the grid in Eastern Finland. He added that transmission needs can change rapidly if Finland can become an exporter of electricity and refined fuels in line with its goals. In any case, the process for designing and building a new 400 kV power line can take time up to seven years. Participants at the Energy Forum believed that this time should be halved. Currently Fingrid classifies projects for which no official connection inquiry has been made as ideas that do not affect their plans, which emphasizes the importance of official grid connection enquiries already in early phase of investment projects.
It became clear at the event that green energy transition in Eastern Finland requires clear and more active communication between different stakeholders.
“There are many projects underway in North Karelia, so the actors need to get their project lists in order and contact power companies to increase awareness so that needs do not come as a surprise. Understanding the overall picture of the energy sector is strengthened with the ongoing preparation of the second phase of the regional land use plan in North Karelia," said Pasi Pitkänen, Regional Planning Manager from the Regional Council of North Karelia.