Huge solar power project being built in South Ostrobothnia

Finland’s largest solar farm is planned to be built in South Ostrobothnia

The economic competitiveness of solar power has improved over the last few years, and this trend is expected to continue. In 2020, EPV Energy (EPV) started planning its first industrial-scale solar power project.

After looking into the optimal location for the solar farm, EPV decided to build it on a peat production area in Heinineva, Lapua, where peat production ended in 2022. The Heinineva area is large and open and almost unimpeded by shadow. During the year, the project obtained a legally valid decision on the need for planning, and permit applications for the future use of the area were submitted.

The area offers an excellent potential site for solar power generation.

In planning the solar power plant in Lapua, EPV is making use of the data collected at the EPV Alavus solar power measuring station.

If implemented, the Heinineva solar power plant will be the largest in Finland by far. Key figures for the planned solar farm:

  • Plant’s total output 100 MWp
  • Approximately 140,000 solar panels
  • Output per panel roughly 700 Wp
  • Plant’s average output during its life cycle more than 90 GWh per year
  • Length of panel mounts roughly 100 km
  • Area size 120 hectares

If implemented, the project is estimated to be completed later in the 2020s. Whether the solar farm becomes a reality depends on the competitiveness of the solar cell technology at the time of building, the cost-effectiveness of construction and the shareholders’ investment needs.

EPV Energy’s first solar park to be built in Lapua

EUR 12 million aid for EPV Energy’s giant solar power project

EPV Aurinkovoima Oy, a wholly owned subsidiary of EPV Energy, is planning an investment to build an industrial-scale solar energy park. The new solar farm would produce around 90 GWh of electricity per year.  The solar farm planned for Lapua received a boost when the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment granted the project investment aid of more than EUR 12 million in December.

EPV is studying solar energy yield at its own solar power measuring facility

As a pioneer in zero-emission energy generation, EPV is constantly researching renewable energy technologies and energy production on the market. One example of this is the solar energy measuring station in Vuorenneva, Alavus, commissioned in September 2018.

The metering station allows us to investigate and improve the predictability of solar power. The plant’s output naturally coincides with periods of high electricity consumption, and it is designed to balance out peak loads in consumption.

Would you like to know more about the project?

Ask for more:

Ari Soininen, Managing Director of EPV Solar Power and Development Manager of EPV Energy Ltd
ari.soininen@epv.fi
P. 010 505 5040