Nuclear and hydroelectric send the price of energy in Finland below zero
Rising hydropower, the commissioning of new nuclear reactors and the addition of solar and wind capacity drove electricity prices in Finland below zero on Wednesday, a sharp reversal from a year last year, when residents were warned of energy shortages after Russia cut gas supplies to its EU neighbors.
The average day price is now slightly, but clearly, on the negative side. Yes, that is historic ,” Jukka Ruusunen, chief executive of network operator Fingrid, told local broadcaster Yle.
An abundance of meltwater is boosting hydroelectric power generation, while Europe's newest nuclear reactor – and the largest by capacity – started producing electricity in Finland last month. Olkiluoto 3, which has completed production tests and is now producing electricity on a regular basis, is expected to account for 30% of Finland's electricity production, according to the plant operator, TVO.
Operational problems have plagued the 1,600 MW reactor for years. But it is now expected to produce electricity for the next 60 years and be a significant addition to clean national generation, TVO said.
After the start of Olkiluoto 3, electricity prices in Finland plummeted by 75% between December 2022 and April 2023.
In addition, growing solar and wind capacity is contributing to a cleaner and more abundant energy supply in Finland.
“Last winter there was only talk of where to get more electricity. Now we are thinking about how to limit production. We went from one extreme to the other,” Ruusunen told Yle.
“There is now enough electricity and it is almost emission-free. So you can feel good about using electricity,” Fingrid's chief executive said.
In another significant boost to Finland's renewable energy capacity, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Myrsky Energia (Myrsky) announced on Wednesday a partnership to develop more than 1.8 GW of onshore wind power in Finland.
“This transaction puts Finland on the right path to becoming a European leader in the energy transition and will significantly contribute to the achievement of Finland's carbon neutrality target in 2035,” CIP said in a statement.
The pity is that this energy, due to the lack of infrastructure, cannot be exported to the south, where energy costs are higher.
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The article Nuclear and hydroelectric send the price of energy in Finland below zero comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/nucleare-e-idroelettrico-mandano-il-prezzo-dellenergia-in-finlandia-sotto-zero/ on Thu, 25 May 2023 16:10:43 +0000.