The EPV Windpower and New Technology business area is making large investments to increase wind power. The next wind farm project will bring EPV’s wind power production above the one terawatt hour limit. Rapid technological advances are evident in its new wind farm, their turbines and production volume.

EPV continued investing heavily in new wind power projects. The most important investment decision of the year was to build the next 21 turbines in the Paskoonharju wind power plant in Teuva. This is a huge milestone, as it is EPV’s first market-based wind farm investment to be built without public funding. The area already has two turbines. When complete, the entire farm will be EPV’s fifth industrial-scale wind power plant and its annual production volume will be approximately 400,000 megawatt hours.

Building an industrial-scale wind farm without public funding has been EPV’s objective right from the start of its wind power business.

“With the completion of the project in Teuva, the annual output of EPV Energy Group’s wind power companies is set to exceed one terawatt hour, which is significant,” says Chief Business Officer of the operating area and Managing Director of EPV Windpower, Frans Liski.

Advancements in wind power technologies will bring larger wind farms, increase their production volume and extend their life cycles

Over the last few years, wind power technology has made huge strides, which is concretely evident in both large capacity wind generators and growing production volumes.

“We are building new kinds of turbines in Teuva with a rotor diameter of 150 metres and generator rooms located at a height of about 155 metres,” Liski explains.

Thanks to the development of technology, the service life of the Teuva wind farm is estimated to reach up to 30 years, which will further raise the investment’s cost-efficiency. The operating lives of turbines have also increased: the previous goal was 20 years, whereas now it is 25–30 years.

The development of EPV wind power companies’ industrial scale wind power farms:

Investment preparations for new wind farms continued

Wind conditions in 2019 were steady, and the production volume of EPV’s current wind farms grew. A damaged blade in the Metsälä wind farm was repaired. EPV also continued its investment preparations for several new wind power projects. New wind farms are being planned, for example, for the localities of Närpes, Laihia, Simo and Kuusamo.

Continued monitoring of advancements in offshore wind power

EPV is a shareholder in Rajakiiri Oy and Suomen Merituuli Oy and actively follows technological developments also on this front. The cost development of wind farms on land has been so favourable that expectations for offshore plants are also growing.

“We are keeping a close eye on the technology for any potential project preparations in the 2020s,” Liski says.

Preparing for advancements in solar power and energy storage

The unexpectedly fast development of wind power has taught EPV to prepare also for the possibility of industrial-scale solar power and energy storage solutions becoming commonplace, although they are not economically viable as yet. The challenges of seasonal and production variation of renewable energy sources still require a secure solution.

EPV is constantly researching and monitoring industrial-scale energy storage and its development. In 2019, EPV was already preparing its own energy storage demonstration and making plans for a pilot plant.

“The demonstration plant would be primarily intended for the frequency market. We have continued to monitor technologies and made preparations for an electricity storage pilot plant. Our goal is to take small steps towards investments before embarking on a large project,” Liski says.

EPV continues to use its own solar monitoring station for solar power research in Vuorenneva, Alavus. At this station, EPV studies solar radiation and the output of solar panels to gain experience and knowledge about solar power in Finland for industrial use. At the same time, EPV is learning about things that will have to be taken into account in a potential large solar power plant.

Wind power for EPV Energia