Solar power: Summary of the 'Cost-effective solution for companies’ energy requirements' event

Solar power: Summary of the 'Cost-effective solution for companies’ energy demand' event

Fifty plus participants interested in solar energy had gathered at Lappeenranta’s Kehruuhuone on a beautiful sunny morning, to hear about and discuss the ways in which solar power can be utilised by companies.

According to the statistics of the energy industry association Energiateollisuus ry, the total amount of installed solar power in Finland was 7.9 MW (in October last year). Of Finland’s total installed solar power, 6% was in Lappeenranta and 8% was in South Karelia. The statistics include small producers and large solar power plants. The city of Lappeenranta is constructing power plants on the roofs of the new day-care centre in Myllymäki and the new fire station, on the west side of the city. The power plants will be put into service during the summer, as the construction work is completed. Lappeenrannan Energia Oy has had panels installed on the roofs of the maintenance building and carports at its Simolantie site.

At the event, experts gave interesting speeches that discussed the various ways in which solar energy can be utilised by companies in their business operations, as well as Lappeenranta’s past experiences and future possibilities regarding solar power. After the speeches, the discussion was lively. Here is a summary of the key points:

1. To achieve the emission reduction target, the city of Lappeenranta would need, for example, three panels per city resident, one large power plant and 20 supermarket roofs to be covered with panels. Solar power is a standard in consumer marketing, FinSolar offers good tools for evaluating profitability.
2. Lappeenrannan energia Oy is encouraging companies to switch to solar power. Depending on the consumption profile, solar power is either a profitable or a highly profitable investment.
3. A third of the companies participating in the seminar want to invest in solar power this year. This could mean around € 750–900,000 in investments and an estimated 600 kW of increased capacity.
4. Investing in solar power is a smart business move; not jumping on board gives the competitors a head start. GEF, which is based in Lappeenranta, has implemented many large and small turnkey projects.
5. The chance of getting financial support from the ELY Centre is better if they are contacted before the project starts. According to this year’s policies on financial support for solar power system installations, 20% is paid for heating projects and 25% for electricity projects.

Photo: Kehruuhuone full of people who are interested in solar power

The event’s presentations (in Finnish):

Markku Mäki-Hokkonen

Karoliina Auvinen

Marko Pollari

Markus Lankinen

Ilkka Pitkänen

Ilpo Kinttula