Fortum and Metsahallitus Reserve Bay of Bothnia Areas for Wind Farms

Electricity generator Fortum and Finland’s state-owned forest enterprise Metsahallitus have made a reservation agreement on the Pitkamatala and Maakrunni areas of the Bay of Bothnia, in the municipalities of Kemi, Simo and Ii, for large scale wind power generation.

Both areas have reportedly been marked as wind power areas in the land use plans for the Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia provinces of Finland.

According to a preliminary survey, an 800MW to 900MW offshore wind farm can be built in the Pitkamatala area and a 350MW to 400MW plant is considered practical in the Maakrunni area. The two farms’ combined output would equal the annual electricity consumption of approximately 200,000 detached houses with electric heating.

An environmental impact assessment will be carried out at the beginning of the project, along with a more detailed evaluation of the areas’ wind conditions. According to initial estimates, the Pitkamatala and Maakrunni wind farms could probably begin to generate electricity in 201416.

Arja Koski, vice president for Fortum’s wind power investments, said: “Fortum strongly supports the increase of CO2-free and renewables-based energy production and wants to be an active partner in meeting the challenging renewable energy sources targets set for Finland by the European Union. Our aim is to increase wind power production substantially by 2025.”