Finland Ending Use of Coal as Last Utility-Scale Plant Shuts Down
The last operating large coal-fired power plant in Finland has shut down, with the facility's operator saying it now will use electricity, waste heat, and heat pumps—along with burning biomass—to provide power and heat to its customers. The Salmisaari plant, with a generation capacity of 175 MW of electricity along with its production of heat, has been operated by Helsinki-owned energy group Helen. Finland has transitioned to use renewable energy resources, including solar and wind, in recent years as the country's use of coal decreased after government officials in 2019 passed a law banning the use of coal after 2029. Wind power generation capacity in Finland has more than doubled in the past five years and now supplies nearly 25% of the country's energy. "We have been able to improve our competitiveness by investing in the flexibility of the energy system in line with our strategy and shifting our production to green solutions," said Helen CEO Olli Sirkka in a statement. "This way, we can operate more profitably with lower customer prices. Our success is an excellent indication that, at best, the clean transition, cost efficiency and Finland's security of supply can go hand in hand," said Sirkka.
Electricity from coal-fired power will now be less than 1% of Finland's energy mix. Sirrka told the Reuters news service: "Of course, we cannot say that not a single gram of coal will be burned in Finland anymore, because there are various crisis situation solutions, but this is indeed Finland's last coal power plant that is in daily production use." Sirkka said, "In the long term, we intend to eliminate all burning," noting the utility has a goal to end all thermal generation for power and heat by 2040. The executive said the utility wants to have its carbon emissions reduced to just 5% of their 1990 level by 2030. Helen is the last major Finnish power producer to stop using coal. The Beyond Fossil Fuels environmental group has said there are two small facilities in Finland still burning some coal, along with a third plant that could be used during an energy emergency. Sirkka said that previously there was not enough clean energy available to meet Helsinki's power and heating needs. Sirkka said that during winter, heating for the capital of Helsinki consumes about 20% of the available energy. "It is perhaps necessary to admit that a clean transition does not come cheaply. It is indeed a value choice, and it is one that we have made both as a society and as Helen," Sirkka told Reuters. He said ending the use of coal will cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 50% this year compared to 2024, and will reduce Finland's total CO2 emissions by almost 2%. —Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
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