October 4 (Renewables Now) - Finnish renewables developer Ilmatar Energy will create a large hybrid renewable energy park in Finland thanks to EUR 19.5 million (USD 19m) of support awarded today by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE).

Ilmatar is already building a 216-MW wind farm in Alajarvi. The grant will facilitate the addition of a 150-MWp solar park close to the wind park and a 25-MW/50-MWh battery.

The wind farm will be constructed under market conditions and without subsidies with an investment of EUR 217 million, while the solar farm will cost a total of EUR 97.8 million.

“The hybrid park project will make use of the electrical infrastructure built for wind power in the park area. The combination of different energy generation and storage solutions will bring significant synergy benefits, enhancing both land use and the use of equipment,” chief executive Juha Sarsama said, adding that solar and wind generation often balance each other.

The planning phase for the project will start at the beginning of 2023.

This is one of six clean energy projects that were awarded a total of EUR 99.8 million by MEAE under Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The projects include one more solar farm, of 70 MW, with the ministry noting that these solar projects are significantly larger than the current solar power plants in Finland.

(EUR 1 = USD 0.976)

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