This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 5/29/2019

Overview

Finland is the world's northern-most industrialized nation and Finland’s energy consumption per capita and energy needs are high due to its energy-intensive industry, cold climate, and high standard of living.
Finland does not have its own fossil fuels – coal, oil or natural gas – but it does have bio fuels, rich reserves of peat, and extensive wood resources. Peat as an indigenous fuel has considerable effect on regional policy. Peat increases employment and security of the energy supply. Over 50 percent of coal imports come from Russia. Other coal suppliers include Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, China, and Poland. Natural gas consumed in Finland comes from Russia.
On an international scale, both energy production and usage in Finland are quite efficient thanks to resource availability, production infrastructure and geographical location. Energy-intensive industries play a large role in the Finnish economy, and this has spurred the development of efficiency-driven energy systems.
Finland is a world leader in smart grid technology due to the early adoption of related technologies such as household specific, remotely readable, accurate electricity consumption metering and real-time power grid failure monitoring. This has led to improved energy use information for customers and real-time billing. Finland is now moving towards the next step of smart grid technologies to meet the increased volume of small-scale generation, customer-level energy storage, electric vehicles, and controllable loads with the intention of putting consumers “at the heart” and in control of their energy and efficiency measures.
 
 Energy Consumption by Energy Source
 20172018
 TWh%TWh%
Total Energy Consumption 376.6100 %384.2100%
Of which Wood fuels100.426.6 %104.527%
Of which Oil87.323.1 %85.422%
Of which Nuclear Energy65.417.4 %66.317%
Of which Coal32.38.6 %31.18%
Of which Natural Gas18.44.9 %20.45%
Of which Peat15.64.1 %18.55%
Of which Hydro and Wind Power19.45.1 %195%
Net Imports of Electricity21.05.6 %19.95%
Others 17.44.6 %18.85%
Source: Stats.fi

Leading Sub-Sectors

Nuclear Power
Finland has four operational nuclear reactors and in 2017 the nuclear reactors provided 33.2 percent of the total (65 TWh) electricity generated in the country. In addition to the existing ones, there is one new reactor being built (TVO’s OL3) and another reactor is in the planning stages (Fennovoima’s Hanhikivi1). There are no inactive reactors.
U.S. companies can register as subcontractors in Fennovoima’s Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant project, as the key sub-suppliers are gathering a wide network of subcontractors.
Electricity Infrastructure and Grid Transmission Distribution
There are 3.5 million electricity users in Finland. The power system consists of power plants, the nationwide transmission grid, regional networks, distribution networks, and electricity consumers. Cross-border connections are also included in the Finnish electricity network and the power system is part of the inter-Nordic power system. Most of the imported electricity comes from Sweden and a significant amount of electricity is also imported from Norway and Russia. Electricity is traded through the Nord Pool electricity exchange.
The total length of high-voltage networks (110– 400 kV) is approximately 13,980 miles (22,500 kilometers), medium-voltage networks 86,991 miles (140,000 kilometers) and low-voltage networks 149,129 (240,000 kilometers). The high-voltage networks are built as overhead lines. Of the medium-voltage networks, 80 percent are overhead lines, 7 percent are aerial cables, and 13 percent are underground or underwater cables. Of the low-voltage network, 3 percent are overhead lines, 58 percent are aerial cables, and 39 percent are underground cables. Active conversion to underground cabling is ongoing throughout the country. There are 116 electrical substations in Finland.
In 2017, electricity production was 65 TWh and, of this, nuclear plants provided 33.2 TWh, hydro plants 22.5 TWh, coal and gas-fired plants 14.4 TWh, and biomass plants 16.8 TWh. After net imports of 23.9 TWh, total electricity consumption totaled 85.5 TWh.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE&EE)
Finland is one of the world leaders in the use of renewable energy sources. The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2009 set a goal for Finland to increase the share of renewable energy to 38 percent by 2020. Finland reached that goal by 2014, and by 2017 had far surpassed it, renewable energy sources accounting for 47 percent of total generation.
The key target in promoting renewable energy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move away from an energy system based on fossil fuels. The Energy and Climate Strategy published in November 2016 outlined actions that will enable Finland to attain the targets specified in the Government Program and adopted in the EU for 2030, and to systematically set the course for achieving an 80−95 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Finland has announced the phase-out of the use of coal for energy by 2029.
The most important form of renewable energy used in Finland is bioenergy: fuels from forest industry side streams and other wood-based fuels, hydropower, wind power, and geothermal power. Bioenergy is also generated from biodegradable waste and side streams of agriculture and industrial production and from municipal waste. Solar electricity has a growing role especially where on-site energy generation substitutes for energy bought from the grid. Solar heating is used as a supplement to the main heating system. Peat has also been defined as a slowly renewing biomass fuel. The share of peat in the energy balance is over four percent. As indigenous fuel, peat has a considerable effect on regional policy.
Energy Efficiency
Traditional Finnish energy efficiency strengths are in the areas of energy intensive industrial processes, power electronics, combustion and gasification technologies, combined heat and power production, and biomass-based fuels. Additional growth comes from smaller firms operating in the areas of new materials, smart grids, recycling, and measurement technologies. A new area to watch is power electronics used in automotive manufacturing.
To promote energy efficiency, Finland has employed a voluntary agreement scheme since the 1990s. The practical measures boosted by the agreements, such as energy audits and analyses subsidized by the Government, have provided companies and communities with an excellent means of ascertaining their own energy usage and the scope for improving it, as well as integrating improvements in energy efficiency in their daily operations.
The new energy efficiency period for the Energy Efficiency Agreements was launched in the beginning of 2017 for the period of 2017–2025 and concerns four sectors. The sectors participating in the energy efficiency agreements for business and industry include the industry, energy, and private services sectors, while the other energy efficiency agreements concern the real estate sector, the municipal sector and the distribution of heating oils.
Finland has been involved in the development of low-energy and eco-efficient construction alternatives since the late 1980s. The basic principles of energy efficiency in buildings include: controlled ventilation and efficient heat recovery; improved thermal insulation of building skin; careful design and construction; using building structures as heating and cooling storage units; improved indoor climate quality; and innovative home automation systems.
Driven by a continuous challenge to decrease energy use and to meet new energy savings within the built-environment, the Finnish building industry is moving towards developing and searching for new high-performance building solutions and technologies.
 

Opportunities

Finnish energy companies use open tenders as required by European Union (EU) regulations. 
The development of renewable energy in Finland is expected to offer opportunities for U.S. companies in innovative renewable energy source technology. U.S. companies are welcome to participate, in cooperation with Finnish companies, in Business Finland-funded Energy, Climate and Environment Friendly Investment and Investigation Projects. 
 

Web Resources

Ministry of Employment and Economy
Finnish Energy Industries
Energy Authority
Online version of the Supplement to the European Union for public procurement tenders, Official Journal
Business Finland
Statistics Finland
Energia Fair
Vaasa Energy Week
The Bioenergy Association
Finnish Wind Power Association
Motiva (Energy Efficiency)
mia.maki@trade.gov (local contact)

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More Information

Finland Energy Trade Development and Promotion