The electricity network is filling up fast – Will the industry’s billion-dollar investments be left behind?

Electricity storage facilities are now rapidly emerging in Finland. They even out the variability of renewable electricity production and consumption, but the high pace of investment raises concerns about whether there will soon be enough room for industrial investments in the electricity grid.

Connections to the electricity network are distributed according to the “fast eats slow” principle, i.e. the connection will be given to the project that is ready to build the fastest and fulfills the conditions for joining.

With electricity storage, it usually takes a year or a little more to get to this point, while with industrial investments it can take up to ten years. Electric boilers and data centers are also ready for construction faster than industry.

The electricity grid is now being built in Finland at a record pace with electricity-intensive investments in mind. The risk, however, is that as a result of the different pace of development of the projects, there will be no more capacity left in the electricity network, when the expected industrial projects in Finland would finally be ready for investment.

In Finland, electricity reserves will soon exceed 1,500 megawatts, i.e. almost as much as the production of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant. Electricity storages are both charged and discharged, so they actually require twice the network capacity. Strong interest is illustrated by the fact that last year Fingrid was asked to connect to electricity storage for 26,000 megawatts. Of course, not all of them come true.

The grid company Fingrid has warned about industrial investments being left at the feet of others and has suggested that it should be possible to direct electricity storage to less congested places in the network.

The discussion is partly the same as the one that has taken place regarding the arrival of data centers in Finland. Should industrial projects that promise more jobs be prioritized in electricity networks in some way compared to server rooms and battery containers?

In a survey commissioned by Fingrid the strategic prioritization of electricity grid connections to, for example, important destinations in terms of the Finnish national economy or security of supply is supported by political decision-makers and background influencers.

However, the political evaluation of projects is easier said than done, and not at all problem-free.

Electricity storage is needed in an electricity system that relies on renewable energy production, cities are heated with electric boilers, and systems important to society can run in data centers. The investments starting now will bring work, especially to the construction sector, while industrial projects promising up to a thousand jobs are still waiting for decisions.

At the same time, even the current model does not produce the best final result, when the Finnish electricity market is facing something new here as well.

Local solutions are already being made. For example, Kokkola has chosen to attract instead of data centers, industrial investments in the hope of jobs.