National Goals
![Photo: Lielahti Citymarket, Tampere. A photovoltaic system with a surface of 330 m and a capacity of 39 kWp [Photo: Fortum Oy]](images/fin01.jpg)
During 1990's the main emphasis in Finnish activities in the photovoltaics area was concentrated on research and development. The National Advanced Energy Systems and Technologies Program (NEMO2) comprising among other technology areas also photovoltaics ended in 1998. A new industry driven and restricted program "Photovoltaics in Finland" was finished in 2000. In future there will be no national research programme for photovoltaics but research will be funded on project level.
Besides research and development activities more emphasis will be given to market development of photovoltaic technologies. In autumn 1999 an Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources was launched by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Action Plan sets objectives for the volume of energy generated by renewable sources in year 2010. A prognosis on the development until 2025 is also included. The relative increase of photovoltaic markets sought until 2010 is significant even though its' absolute volume is still modest.
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Research and Development
The research conducted within the NEMO2 program focused on building integration of photovoltaics as well as hydrogen based storage systems with main interest on amorphous silicon and new thin film technologies. The bulk of R&D were done at Helsinki University of Technology and within the units of Fortum Ltd. "Photovoltaics in Finland" program managed by Tekes, Technology Development Centre, focused on industrial solar cell production with the intention is to provide technological requisites for inducing industrial production.
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Initiatives from the Government
The ambitious goal set by the Action Plan for Renewable Energy until 2010 is to increase the production by 50% when compared with the year 1995. A further goal is to double the use of renewable energy sources by the year 2025. This increase is to a large degree foreseen to rely on bioenergy and hydropower, but ambitious goals have been set also for photovoltaics. The objective for photovoltaic electricity generation in 2010 is 40 MWp, meaning a 20 fold increase when compared with the 1998 situation. The prognosis for 2025 is 500 MWp. Thus the main emphasis in the coming decade is in creating the needed infrastructure (awareness, information dissemination, export, industrial activities) whereas volume effects are sought later. Then impact of photovoltaics on the total environmental effects of the Action Plan are assessed to be less than 1%.in 2010.
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Demonstration Projects
The largest Finnish demonstration project is mounted at the Lielahti Citymarket in Tampere, southern Finland. The modules set up on the roof of the hypermarket have a surface of 330 m and a capacity of 39 kWp. The electricity generated by the system is fed to the premises own consumption and it is estimated to cover 4-5% of the buildings total energy consumption during summer months.
Several smaller demonstration projects have been built, such as the electrification of telecommunication base stations at remote areas or a number of building integrated amorphous silicon facades.
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Industry Status
The main industrial player is Fortum Ltd with its business unit NAPS Systems Oy. Fortum markets different PV applications. Its market share in Europe is approximately 10%. On systems technology some 10 companies are active. Typical products include controllers and also total systems are marketed.
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Market Development
The photovoltaic markets in Finland can be divided into three main segments:
- built environment
- summer cottages, recreational boats and other applications with electricity consumption concentrating on summer months
- larger applications in remote areas (more than 1 kWp)
The domestic markets are dominated by small solar home systems for vacation houses, typically 50-100 Wp in size. The estimated potential is some 120 000 units. Navigational aids (typically 50-150 Wp) along the coastline form another significant market segment. Examples of larger applications in remote areas are telecommunication base stations. Also the Finnish coast Guard operates some 20 larger stand-alone hybrid systems with a PV capacity of 500-1000 Wp. In the current state investment subsidies (up to 30%) are only available for communities, organizations and enterprises.
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Table 1. Finnish PV systems 2000
| Market segment |
Number |
Power (kWp) |
| Solar home systems |
35 000 |
2 225 |
| Stand-alone systems |
2 030 |
230 |
| Grid-connected (utility) |
1 |
30 |
| Grid-connected (rooftop) |
11 |
67 |
| Total |
37 042 |
2 552 |
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Further reading about Finland
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