Danish developer Better Energy has partnered with Finish solar company Forus to develop more than 1GW of solar PV in Finland.
Better Energy will fund, construct, operate and own the solar power plants in Finland, drawing on Forus’ “extensive local knowledge, as they will service [sic] as the point of contact to landowners and spearhead the development of projects”, Better Energy said in a media statement.
Newly formed independent power producer (IPP) Better Energy has been a part of the development and construction of more than 100 solar parks and has a total project pipeline of 7GW, mostly focused in the Nordic states.
“Better Energy is the best possible partner for us,” said Forus CEO Eero Oksanen. “Finland could produce over 5 times its need of power with wind and solar. Nordics should take bigger responsibility for the energy production of Europe.”
This is particularly stark in light of recent geopolitical events. Finland’s bid to join NATO resulted in Russian state-owned RAO Nordic cutting off the electricity export to Finland, causing already high electricity prices to rise even further, Better Energy said.
“Locally produced, clean, sustainable energy is critical not only for our climate and environment but also to European security policy. We need to move towards energy independence and away from coal, oil and gas from authoritarian regimes,” said Better Energy CEO Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær.
PV Tech Premium has examined how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could reshape Europe’s energy apparatus as the bloc scrambles to rid itself of its reliance on Russian gas imports, responsible for nearly half the EU’s power generation.