Korkia & Solmar Consulting Join Hands to Set up 1 GW Solar Projects in Finland

OX2 Acquires Large Scale Finnish Solar Farm of 475 MW Capacity

Finnish investment firm in renewable energy, Korkia and US-based developer of renewable energy, Solmar Consulting have joined hands for the establishment of solar capacity worth 1 GW in southern, western and south-western Finland.

The two firms are already cooperating for the development of multiple solar parks, which are in the works currently. The parks will reach completion by 2025–2027 and once concluded, they will look after the energy needs of 52,600 electrically heated single-family homes. As of now, 20 projects are underway with unit sizes of 40-100 MW.

“Finland is in sore need of more renewable energy and solar power offers a quick way to the production of it. These projects will help increase the amount of renewable energy in the summer season, in particular, as the production of wind energy is less at that time. At the same time, solar energy production also helps Finland’s electricity mix and enables the increasing of the country’s self-sufficiency in electricity,” said Petri Haataja, Korkia’s Vice President, Joint Venture Management.

One of these many projects that are in the process of completion are in Kristiinankaupunki, located in Western Finland.

“It is great to work together with another domestic developer to increase renewable energy production in Finland. Solar parks also create new opportunities for local industry and investments, as businesses find their way to the vicinity of renewable energy production. At the same time, we are able to create steady profits for landowners when they rent their lands and let the lands become solar power production sites. Cooperation with municipalities and landowners is an important part of our way of working,” said Lauri Solin, in charge of Solmar’s project development.

“Despite the changing seasons, it pays to produce solar power in Finland as well, because the annual solar irradiance in Southern Finland, for example, is at the same level as in Central Europe. We want to play a part in sustainable energy production, and I believe that utility-scale solar parks will play an important role in raising the self-sufficiency of Finnish electricity production,” added Jari Marttinen, Solmar’s Executive Director.

This is the first substantial investment by Korkia in the domestic solar energy sector. The firm’s renewable energy portfolio currently exceeds 6 GW. Outside of Finland, it has similar projects in Great Britain, Canada, Spain and Sweden.