Fortum, Uniper launch 380-MW wind project in Finland

German energy group Uniper SE (ETR:UN01) and Finnish peer Fortum Oyj (HEL:FORTUM) have made an investment decision to commence the construction of a 380-MW cluster of wind farms in Finland.

The project is the first one being undertaken under Uniper’s and Fortum’s joint renewables strategy in Europe, which envisages the deployment of between 1.5 GW and 2 GW of new capacity by 2025. Their partner in the 380-MW scheme will be Finnish energy company Helen Ltd, Uniper said on Wednesday.

Forum, which holds 76.1% of Uniper, will keep a 60% in the Finnish scheme, while Helen will own the rest.

The wind farm cluster comprises the Pjelax-Bole and Kristinestad Norr projects in Narpes and Kristinestad, western Finland. The complex will be powered by 56 turbines and is expected to be capable of producing around 1.1 TWh of electricity per year.

Construction and civil works are slated to begin in January 2022, with the wind farms planned to go online in the second quarter of 2024, at the latest. The total required investment is estimated at around EUR 360 million (USD 408.1m), of which Fortum’s share is EUR 216 million.

The wind farms will operate under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) under which Helen will buy 50% of their power output.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.133)

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