Big electricity deal made: 2,400 hectares of a state-owned company’s swamp for solar and wind power – More to come

Neovan i.e. a wholly owned subsidiary of the former Vapo I vape Terra and Swedish Rabalshede Force have signed a cooperation agreement based on which Rabbalshede Kraft will take a 50 percent ownership stake in nine renewable energy production projects owned by Vapo Terra.

Four of these cooperation targets are hybrid park projects suitable for solar and wind power production, and five are targets suitable for solar power production only. The combined nominal capacity of the projects is up to 1,400 megawatts of solar and wind power. It corresponds almost to the capacity of Olkiluoto 3.

In practice, however, the amount remains significantly lower.

“Finland has installed electricity production capacity of approximately 15,000 megawatts. This portfolio of ours produces a few percent of the annual electricity consumption of the whole of Finland,” says Neova’s deputy CEO Markus Tykkyläinen.

The projects are located in different parts of Finland, and they include approximately 2,400 hectares of Neova’s own land. In particular, the areas planned for the production of solar power in the projects are largely located in the old peat production areas of Neova, but in the solar and wind power hybrid project sites, land has also been leased from outside landowners.

More than 10,000 hectares reserved for the production of renewables

In the signed agreement on the joint development of the sites, Vapo Terra’s role is to develop the projects to be ready for construction for permits, after which Rabbalshede Kraft will further develop and take the projects to the final investment decision. After the investment decision, Rabbalshede Kraft acquires 100 percent of the project in question and starts construction, remaining to produce electricity in the role of the owner of the project. Vapo Terra’s strategy is to withdraw from projects before construction starts.

The majority of the projects will be ready for construction in 2026–2028. There is no estimate of the total amount of investments yet.

Among the projects published now, the largest is the Kairineva solar and wind power park, with a planned nominal capacity of approximately 200 megawatts of solar power and 160 megawatts of wind power.

If Neova’s plans come true, there will be more. The company is in the early stages of renewable energy.

“We have mapped the suitability of the lands we own for the production of renewable energy, and we have reserved more than 10,000 hectares of the lands we own for these purposes. Finland is recognized as an attractive region for solar and wind power projects due to Finland’s strong electricity grid and extensive land areas suitable for renewable energy. The cooperation agreement concluded now was the first of its kind for us, but certainly not the last,” says Tykkyläinen.

The state owns 50.1 percent of Neova. Last year, the company’s turnover was 495.9 million euros, and the operating profit was 5.3 million euros minus.

Rabbalshede Kraft is a company established in 2005 specializing in the development of green energy, the financing and operation of these projects. The company’s turnover in 2023 was 36 million euros. The company has invested around 400 million euros in these projects since 2005 and currently the annual production of the renewable energy sites it owns is around 1.1 terawatt hours.