Rejlers investigated the State of the Energy Transition in Central Finland
Central Finland has a lot of potential for increasing carbon-neutral energy production through wind and solar power. A study carried out by Rejlers complemented the understanding of the Regional Council of Central Finland on energy consumption and production. The study also examined the further potential of solar power plants in the Central Finland region.
The Regional Council of Central Finland has the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the region by 2030. Rejlers delivered a study to the Council, evaluating ways to achieve this goal. The project looked into the energy transition primarily from a land use perspective. The goal of the Regional Council is to have in place a regional plan that enables and supports the promotion of the energy transition and carbon neutrality. This objective is being achieved by both the regional plan and by putting together a comprehensive overall view and background knowledge related to the solutions of the energy transition.
– The Regional Council is responsible for regional development and planning. We wanted to find out about the possibilities and preconditions for the energy transition in Central Finland and to obtain insights on the actions that are required for reaching the target of carbon neutrality in our region. The report provides guidelines for preparatory and development steps as well as analyses the focus areas needed for promoting the energy transition, says Regional Architect Liisa Bergius of the Regional Council of Central Finland.
The project began by investigating the current state of the energy system by updating the energy balance of the Central Finland region for the year 2022. Three years had passed since the last review. Energy use in Central Finland is still heavily weighted towards the operation of forest industry plants, but clear changes were nonetheless detected in other areas, including the growth of wind energy generation and emerging signs of the electrification of transport.
– Changes in the energy use of industries in the region, the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the Russian aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 were all at some level visible in the changes in energy consumption and production when compared to the baseline year of 2019, says Rejlers Technology Consultant Jaakko Tamminen.
Solar power plants could produce a significant share of electricity in Central Finland
The Regional Council of Central Finland has previously completed a number of studies related to the development of the energy system in support of regional planning, which have had to do with e.g. wind power, electricity transmission, and geoenergy. These studies were supplemented in this project by a review of the potential of solar power pants, a technology report of energy storage, and by issuing regional planning recommendations from the perspective of the energy transition.
– It is possible to benefit from the knowledge obtained in this project in municipal planning as well, with regard to solar power generation and energy storage, says Bergius.
The conditions for the placement of solar power plants were investigated by means of a geographical information analysis that considered nature values, the built environment, and technological and economical perspectives. Potential areas were scored to identify the best sites. This analysis was able to discover good potential for even large solar power plants, especially in the northwest parts of the region. It was also possible to relate the potential to the solar energy potential of buildings. The solar energy potential of buildings was clearly lower than the potential of ground-mounted solar power plants.
– Extensive solar power projects generating dozens or hundres of megawatts have become a more significant land use question over the last few years. There are also national processes and reviews underway that can affect the public steering of solar power in the future. The report gives the municipalities more background information on potential areas and also brings out the nearby solar power potential of, for example, regional wind farms, says Rejlers Geographical Information and Climate Specialist Leo Hari.
Achieving a carbon neutral Central Finland requires significant investments into the energy system
The study also looked into the future on the basis of the 2022 energy balance of Central Finland. Being an industry-intensive region, carbon neutrality would require reducing the average emission factor of electricity generated in Finland even further or significantly growing the generation of local renewable energy.
In addition, the use of peat and heating oil in the heating of buildings would need to be reduced, and the share of alternative power sources in transport should be grown faster than now in order to achieve the regional climate goals. When going into deep emissions reductions, the overall situation is also impacted by e.g. land use and working machinery.
– Rejlers examined the necessary actions through various scenarios and reported the results by theme. The report is of good quality and demonstrates some alternative paths that we in Central Finland could implement to promote the energy transition and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, says Bergius.
Active dialogue between Rejlers and the Regional Council of Central Finland ensured a high-quality outcome
Rejlers was known to the Regional Council of Central Finland because of an electricity transmission report they completed before. Bergius has good things to say about the partnership.
– This study required in-depth background information, which Rejlers has been moving forward in the form of well-defined project packages. The report is clear and of high quality; even at a glance, it gives a good idea of what the energy transition and reaching the set objectives mean in Central Finland. Our next task is to make the report public and ensure that the identified recommendations are picked up in the region, Bergius concludes.
PUBLISHED 24.6.2024
This study required in-depth background information, which Rejlers has been moving forward in the form of well-defined project packages. The report is clear and of high quality; even at a glance, it gives a good idea of what the energy transition and reaching the set objectives mean in Central Finland.
LIISA BERGIUS | Regional Architect |the Regional Council of Central Finland