Europe 2020: Renewable Energy Plans - Feed-in tariffs to foster major wind expansion

FINLAND: Finland's National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) contains the country's target to raise the share of renewable energy from the 2009 figure of 28% to 38% by 2020.

by Gerard O’Dwyer 1 August 2010

The plan sets out Finland's renewable energy targets in the areas of wind power, biomass and the development of subsidy schemes.

The NREAP is an extension of the National Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources (NAPRES), which was launched in 1999 and updated in 2002. By 2010, under this plan, the use of biomass sources should be 30% higher than in 2001. The national renewables commitments for the year 2015 and 2025 also aim to increase the use of biomass in electricity and heat production.

Finland's 2020 renewables action plan runs alongside the government's long-term climate and energy strategy (LCAES), first presented to the Eduskunta, the country's national parliament, in November 2008. The LCAES aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 38%, a move that will require a greater role for wind power. Feed-in tariffs for wind will be introduced in 2011. In order to stimulate a shift to renewable energy use, the current support and steering systems will be intensified. By 2020, some 6TWh of additional wind energy is to be harnessed, which will entail the construction of a minimum of 700 new 3MW wind turbines in Finland.