FINLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ismo Hentula, Saga Lamminsivu and Lauri Koskenniemi, Procopé & Hornborg Attorneys Ltd
Procopé & Hornborg Attorneys Ltd Eteläesplanadi 18 PO Box 1077 00101 Helsinki Finland Tel: +358 10 3090 300 Email: law.firm@procope.fi Web: www.procope.fi
Introduction The energy sector has been subject to significant global and geopolitical changes in recent years, and Finland is no exception. The Finnish energy market is currently undergoing several simultaneous develop- ments relating to climate change, reduction of fossil fuels, reform of nuclear energy regulation, proliferation of battery storage systems and, more recently, data centres. At the same time, the anticipated growth in energy consumption over the coming years poses challenges for electricity generation and, specifically, for the adequacy of capacity and the load bearing capability of electricity networks. Annual electric- ity consumption in Finland is projected to rise to as much as 120 TWh by 2030, which represents a signifi- cant increase compared to the annual level of around 80–87 TWh that has remained stable for nearly two decades. The forecasted significant growth is driven, amongst other things, by the increasing demands of the information society, such as the need for comput- ing power. Like many other European countries, Finland has, due to its geographical location, depended on energy imported from Russia. Discontinuing energy imports from Russia happened rapidly following Russia’s full- scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, forcing the Finn- ish society to respond swiftly to the crises that shook energy markets, to invest in energy self-sufficiency, and to seek opportunities in new forms of technology to support energy production. The current developments concerning energy markets are therefore intertwined: moving away from fossil fuels means that the energy need must be replaced by other means, and risks related to energy availability
require investing in self-sufficiency. Climate change, in turn, poses challenges not only to the current energy system but also to the energy infrastructure as extreme weather events become more frequent. At the same time, the electrification of society and data centre projects have created growing energy demand. These changes have also increased the need for new kinds of partnerships within the energy markets. To support the requirements of the energy infrastructure, the Finnish government has, for example, concluded a letter of intent with Germany promoting hydrogen technology, as well as taken investment measures with respect to the research and development of a national hydrogen network. In accordance with the National Energy and Climate Strategy, Finland’s objective is to phase out fossil fuels in electricity and heat production by the 2030s at the latest, which is to be achieved by investing in domestic energy production. From a global perspec- tive, Finland is one of the world’s leading countries in the utilisation of renewable energy, as over 40% of the total energy consumed has been acquired from renewable sources. The aim of the National Energy and Climate Strategy is to further improve the situa- tion and to raise the share of these sources to above 50% during the 2020s. In terms of renewable energy, however, a significant part of the energy production capacity in Finland currently relies on wind and solar power, which are dependent on weather conditions. The fluctuating northern climate has a direct and sometimes unpre- dictable impact on electricity generation capacity. Together with the move away from fossil fuels and the decline in the number and changing role of traditional
97
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook