Finland Energy

According to the Statistics Finland , the total energy consumption in Finland in 2016 amounted to 1,335 PJ (petajoule) or 371 tWh (terawatt-hour) ^[3] . Since 2015, total domestic energy consumption has increased by 2%. More than in 2016, electricity was consumed only once - in 2010. In industry, 45% of energy is used, heating of buildings is 26%, transport is 17%, other consumption items are 12% ^[4] . The growth of energy consumption stopped in the 21st century, which is mainly due to changes in industry. The share of heavy industry decreased, and the energy efficiency of the industry improved.

Industry

Dividing energy consumption by sectors, the pulp and paper industry (277,000 TJ), followed by the metallurgical industry (73,000 TJ), oil refining (49,000 TJ) and the chemical industry (45,000 TJ), the data for 2013 ^[5] absorb the most energy ^. .

The forest industry uses wood as a raw material and as a source of energy, it is in it that most of the Finnish wood fuel is used. In the metallurgical industry, most of the energy is consumed in smelting processes. The processing of non-ferrous metals, such as copper, uses a large amount, primarily of electricity. In the chemical industry, electricity is most consumed in the production of plastic and for the production of industrial gases by electrolysis ^[6] .

Heating

Energy costs for heating are measured in degrees-days , which are calculated by the temperature difference between the external and internal environment of the building. The calculated internal temperature in Finland is + 17 ° C ^[7] . The average degree-days for the period 1981-2010 is about 4000 annually in southern Finland , about 5000 in Oulu and more than 6000 in Lapland ^[8] .

The amount of energy used in residential buildings has increased as housing availability for the population has increased. On the other hand, old, high-rise buildings are gradually being decommissioned, and the energy efficiency of new buildings is much higher. Therefore, it is expected that between 2010 and 2050 the amount of energy used for heating, on a statewide scale, will decrease by 20-25% ^[9] .

The production of centralized heating plants for heating buildings began in the 1960s. Today, more than half of the thermal energy of buildings is district heating ^[10] .

Transport

According to data for the period 1990–2011, with a decrease in the amount of energy consumed by transport by one kilometer, an increase in the number of kilometers traveled occurred at the same time ^[9] .

About 20% of all energy consumed by Finland and 40% of the energy produced by oil is spent on transport ^[11] .

Import, Export and Prices

In 2014, Finland imported energy worth 10 billion euros, which is 25% less than the previous year. The largest importer, Russia , accounted for about 61% of the value of imports. Energy exports also decreased by 25% and amounted to 5.2 billion euros. Three quarters of energy exports came from EU countries ^[12] .

According to the 2007 assessment of the International Energy Agency , Finland’s most difficult task is to maintain energy security , dictated by two factors - dependence on imports in general and dependence on the main exporter, that is, Russia ^[13] . In order to maintain energy security in Finland, in 2013 it was decided to maintain the stock of imported fuels in an amount equivalent to five months of normal consumption. However, the task of storing natural gas required its own special mechanisms, since it cannot be stored in Finland, as is done in the countries of Central Europe.

Given the shortage of gas supplies, a strategy was developed to transfer the industry to another fuel - fuel oil . According to the strategy, gas substitutes for natural gas can be produced at the air-propane plant in Porvoo ^[14] .

In 2014, consumer electricity prices in Finland were below the European average, 17th out of 28 countries. If we take into account the purchasing power parity , then the price paid by the Finns is one of the lowest in Europe (after Iceland and Norway) ^[15] .

In September 2015, the price of E95 gasoline was one of the highest in the EU: more expensive gasoline was in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy and Denmark ^[16] .

The most important energy sources in Finland in 2016 were wood fuel (26% of total consumption), followed by oil (23%), nuclear energy (18%), coal (9%), natural gas (6%), energy hydroelectric power plants (4%) and peat (4%). The capacity of wind power plants covered 1% of consumption, other energy sources accounted for 4% ^[17] .

Wood fuel

About a quarter of the energy consumed in Finland is produced using wood fuel ^[18] . Pure wood on an industrial scale is not used as fuel in the country, the energy industry uses by-products of the forest industry, such as bark and sawdust during logging , trees that were cut down during the cultivation, as well as by-products of cellulose production - black , or sulphate, alkali. They are commonly used as fuel in industrial power plants ^[19] .

In 2013, one third of all wood fuel (18 TWh) was used for heating (residential, industrial, agricultural, and office buildings) and two thirds (36 TWh) in power plants ^[20] . In the 21st century, small-scale wood burning increased by almost 50%. Emissions from these processes have become the main source of fine particulate matter concentrated in the atmosphere ^[21] .

Oil

One of the two largest energy sources in Finland is oil , which accounts for 20–25% of total energy consumption ^[18] . This share indicator is one of the smallest among the industrialized countries - OECD members ^[22] .

There are two oil refineries in Finland, the Porvoo refinery and the Naantali refinery. Almost all of the crude oil processed in Finland is imported from Russia by sea tankers . About a third of the products obtained after processing crude oil are exported by Finland ^[22] .

The use of oil and other types of fossil fuels in the 1960s increased significantly, but after the energy crisis of the 1970s , this dynamics practically stopped ^[10] .

Nuclear Power

Finland has two nuclear power plants , each of which has two reactors . The total capacity of the reactors is 2.7 GW. In addition, there is one research reactor in the country. The fifth industrial reactor is under construction. Plans are underway to begin construction of the sixth reactor.

Finland's nuclear power plants annually produce an average of 21.4-22.7 TW of electricity (2000 to 2014), which is 27-35% of Finland’s output and 24-28% of domestic consumption. Since the spring of 2013, Finland’s national energy and climate strategy has viewed nuclear energy as a form of clean energy ^[23] .

Loviisa NPP is a nuclear power plant located on the island of Hästholmen , 15 km southeast of the city of Loviisa . It belongs to the state concern Fortum (until 1998 - IVO). It was commissioned in 1977. There are two power units with Soviet VVER-440 /213 water-water reactors with a rated electric capacity of 440 MW at the station. As a result of the modernization of 1997-2002 , the capacity of each reactor was raised from the original 440 MW to 488 MW, and in the 2010s to 510 MW.

Olkiluoto NPP is a nuclear power plant located on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia of the Baltic Sea, on the island of Olkiluoto . It has two boiling BWR reactors that produce more than 16% of the electricity consumed in Finland. The construction of the nuclear power plant began in early 1974, the second power unit - in September 1975. The station was built on a turnkey basis by the Swedish concern ABB using its own technologies. The first power unit was connected to the national power system in September 1978, the second in February 1980. During two reconstructions in 1984 and 1998, the reactor capacity was increased from the original 660 MW to 710 and 880 MW, respectively.

Coal

The energy generated by burning coal makes up more than 10% of Finland’s energy. The share of coal in electricity production varies from 11% to 21%. Heat supply is 27% dependent on coal ^[24] .

Coal is imported to Finland, mainly from Russia (3,428,000 tons in 2013) to a small extent from Poland (302,000 tons in 2013), Kazakhstan (105,000 tons in 2013) and the Czech Republic (302,000 tons in 2013 ) ^[25] .

Natural gas

The natural gas pipeline network covers the southeast and south of Finland. In this area, natural gas accounts for about 30% of primary and secondary fuel and about 10% of total energy consumption. The share of natural gas in the cost of electricity in 2013 amounted to 13%. Natural gas also plays an important role in cogeneration in district heating and electricity ^[26] .

Since 1974, natural gas has been supplied to Finland from Russia from the Western Siberia region by two parallel pipelines. In Finland, natural gas is stored only in a pipeline network to balance daily fluctuations. Gas distribution within the country as an importer and wholesaler is Gasum ^[27] .

Peat

Finnish peat is mainly used as fuel for district heating and the associated production of heat and electricity ^[28] .

The use of peat in energy production grew in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was relied on as a local resource used for energy production. Production volumes increased from 10 TW-hours to 25-30 TW-h by the 1990s. The amount of peat used each year varies depending on weather conditions ^[29] .

In 2013, peat accounted for 4% of electricity production in Finland ^[30] .

Hydropower

Hydropower production of electricity began in Tampere in 1891 ^[31] .

In the 1950s and 1960s, hydropower accounted for 90% of Finland's electricity production. Adjustability and ease of storage make it an important part of the energy production system. Finnish hydroelectric power plants annually produce electricity from 9.5 to 16.9 TWh, which is 11% to 20% of all electricity consumed in the country (data for 2000-2014) ^[32] .

In Finland, there are more than 220 hydroelectric power stations with a total capacity of about 3,100 megawatts. The largest power plants are Imatrankoski (186 MW) and Petajaskoski Kemijoki (182 MW). Imatrankoski generates about 1000 GWh of electricity annually, Petayaskoski - less than 700 GWh ^[33] .