The solar power plant being built in Heinineva, Lapua is exceptionally large on a national scale. Constructed by EPV Energy, this industrial-scale facility will be completed in two phases. The solar power plant expected to be completed in the first phase is estimated to produce approximately 67 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. Vaasan Sähkö’s share of this is around 30 percent. The planned second phase is intended to increase the annual production to over 90 gigawatt-hours.
– For Vaasan Sähkö, this is an important and very natural step in the development of our production portfolio. Our goal is for our base production to be carbon-neutral by 2030, says director Hans-Alexander Öst.
– Solar power adds breadth to our company’s production palette and forms an excellent addition to our already strong carbon-free production, which includes wind power, hydro¨power, and nuclear power. The energy obtained from this solar power plant will make for only a small part, approximately 1%, of our total energy production, Öst notes.
He emphasizes that the combined capacity of the company’s wind power portfolio is about 180 megawatts.
– It has been built in several phases. The project in Lapua will add 20 megawatts of capacity for us at this stage.
– As energy producers, we have an important role that, in many ways, obliges us to make significant investments in carbon-free production. We cannot wait for someone else to make these decisions.
Öst is pleased that the project is implemented on a reclaimed peatland.
– This is optimal land use when we can utilize the land freed from peat production for a new form of energy production.
The production of the the solar power plant in Lapua is expected to begin at the end of 2025.
This year, Vaasan Sähkö has also announced other investments in heat and electricity production. In all of these, the key priorities have been balancing the energy system, carbon-free energy production, and cost-effectiveness.