Substation expansion enables Finland’s first solar park to be connected to the main grid

Fingrid, the Finnish transmission system operator, will expand the 110-kilovolt Utanen substation in Utajärvi in 2023 and 2024. This will enable the first solar park to be connected to Finland’s main grid.

Fingrid has made a solar park connection agreement with Utajärven Solarpark Oy, a project company owned by Skarta Energy. This is Fingrid’s first solar park connection agreement. It will enable the 80-megawatt Tunturisuo solar park to be connected to the main grid.

The Tunturisuo solar park is part of a project that Skarta Energy is planning in Utajärvi. The project also includes a wind farm and, in the near future, a hydrogen production, storage, and distribution station. Together, these facilities will produce renewable energy for the adjacent business and industrial zone, which will be self-sufficient in terms of energy.

Utanen substation will be expanded in 2023 and 2024 to connect the solar and wind power projects to the main grid. In addition, OX2 Finland Oy is planning a 60-megawatt wind farm in the area, which will also connect to the expanded Utanen substation if the project goes ahead.

“Skarta’s project in Utajärvi is a significant one. It will create a feeling of certainty that major industrial-scale solar power plants are coming to Finland in the next few years. We expect the total capacity to run into the thousands of megawatts,” says Onni Härmä, Customer Manager at Fingrid.

Further information:

Onni Härmä, Customer Manager, Fingrid Oyj, tel. +358 40 687 1237