Electricity from the sun

Electricity from the sun

As part of their official duties, the Director of Educational Services Tuija Willberg and City Secretary Juha Willberg have been involved in the preparation of the climate programme for the municipalities of South Karelia. Moreover, they both participated in the preparations before Lappeenranta joined the HINKU network of Finnish carbon neutral municipalities and the FISU network for resource-wise cities.

In addition to their official duties, the Willbergs also aim to mitigate climate change and promote the use of renewable energy in Lappeenranta in their role of private persons.

The City of Lappeenranta, the Lappeenranta University of Technology and large Lappeenranta-based companies have already made good, far-reaching decisions to protect the climate, the impact of which will be seen as a reduction in emissions and the consumption of renewable energy.

However, the greatest change will be made, for example, by getting individual people to change their consumption habits and start using systems based on solar energy.

In spring 2015, when the Willbergs heard about the third joint contract for a solar power system organised by M.Sc. Vesa-Matti Puro, they decided they wanted in. Also eager to join in were Ilkka Räsänen, Director of Lappeenranta Region Environmental Office, and Hannu Lappalainen, CEO of Lappeenranta Free Zone Ltd.

Together they purchased 1,200 solar panels from Germany, which will be installed in various parts of Finland to produce electricity. Some of the participants of this joint undertaking were already using solar panels and, encouraged by their good experiences, they expanded their solar power plants with additional panels.

Ten panels were installed on the roof of the carport of the Willbergs’ terraced home.

– For us, the main thing is not the payback period of the investment or other such direct financial return, but knowing that we are contributing to the promotion of renewable energy use and becoming emissions-free, as well as new innovations. Based on our calculations, the solar energy generated by these panels will cover one third of our home’s annual electricity consumption. The panels will generate free energy for the next 40 years, thus also benefiting whoever lives here after us, Juha Willberg estimates.

– And our next car might be a chargeable hybrid vehicle which, powered by electricity, which we can use for all our trips within the city centre area without generating any emissions, says Juha Willberg.