Danish investment to boost Finland’s wind power output by one-third

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Finnish wind energy company Myrsky Energia announced a partnership Wednesday (24 May) that aims to generate some 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind power over the next decade in Finland, a move that would increase the country’s current output by a third.

Danish investment company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Myrsky Energia, a Finnish developer specialised in wind power, signed a framework agreement to that effect, according to an announcement Wednesday.

”Here, (in Finland) the political environment is needed. The government targets are clear and direct. Permit processes are smooth. This is a safe investment environment,” the CIP’s Vice-President Rowan told a press conference in Helsinki where the agreement was presented.

Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is the world’s largest fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind.

Myrsky Energia, founded only three years ago, currently generates about five gigawatts (GW) of wind power, with two GW of solar capacity currently under development.

With Finland’s total wind power generation capacity currently totalling 5.7 GW, the new agreement would mean a one-third increase in the country’s wind power output.

The €2.3 billion investment is the first one Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has made in onshore wind power in the Nordics, as Finland has previously attracted Swedish capital.

The largest wind power company in Finland is Swedish company OX2, which has wind power projects worth some 9 GW pending in the country.

“On a global scale, Finland has unique onshore wind energy potential to produce renewable electricity. Green energy investments can create industry-scale business opportunities, local welfare, and employment and boost our energy security. Renewable energy is the new welfare industry for Finland,” the founder of Myrsky Energia, Tuomas Candelin-Palmqvist, said in the CIP press release.

However, with the Finns Party questioning Finland’s climate targets and green energy policy likely set to enter the country’s next government, it is unclear how these energy investments will pan out.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)