Solar power doubled in South Karelia

The amount of solar power doubled in South Karelia within a year

The number of solar power plants connected to the grid is continuing on a good upward trend in the South Karelia area. Both the number of power plants and their combined output have doubled in a year. At the end of 2018, the region had more than 500 power plants with a combined output of 4 MWp. A sharp increase in solar power has been a common trend throughout Finland over the past year.

“In terms of panel output, the growth has been the strongest in Parikkala where it has more than quadrupled. The same is also true for Ruokolahti. The 3.4 GWh of electricity generated by the region’s panel output could be used to heat 260 average electrically heated detached houses, says Environmental Director Ilkka Räsänen from the City of Lappeenranta.

– Lappeenranta’s production, in turn, could generate the electricity for almost every other lamp in the public street network of the whole city, Räsänen adds.

Solar power plants provide municipalities with a partial means of achieving their emission reduction targets. Lappeenranta is a part of the HINKU network of carbon neutral municipalities with Parikkala, Rautjärvi and Ruokolahti, with an emission reduction target of 80% by 2030.

Lappeenranta’s HINKU roadmap set a target of a 10 kt reduction in CO₂ with solar power. This means that Lappeenranta should have a panel output of 55 MWp in 2030. The starting point was that output should be doubled every year, but from 2016 onwards, an annual growth of about one third would be enough to reach the target. Nevertheless, the revised growth rate target has been exceeded.

The HINKU criteria look at the amount of panel output per 10,000 residents. In this regard, the top two in the region are Parikkala and Ruokolahti with outputs of 770 and 570 kWp, respectively.

According to a report by the Energy Authority, the amount of on-grid panel output was 70 MWp at the end of 2017. There is hardly any statistical data available for individual municipalities or regions. South Karelia is an exception in this respect with statistics compiled on this since 2014.

Last year, the ERDF project “Towards a Carbon Neutral South Karelia” published a regional guide for blocks of flats to promote solar power. The project also produced a renewable energy investment guide aimed at both small producers and investors in larger power plants, also covering solar power at length.

Further details:

City of Lappeenranta

Ilkka Räsänen, Environmental Director
tel. +358 40 081 5284, ilkka.rasanen(at)lappeenranta.fi