UPM Explores New Opportunities in the Green Transition
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
As part of the opportunities offered by the green transition, UPM Energy is exploring development of wind and solar power projects mainly on land owned by UPM-Kymmene Corporation. Solar power development is being explored in Utti, Kouvola, and wind power in Western and Eastern Finland. These projects are at an early stage.
"The need for CO2-free electricity is expected to grow significantly in the coming years as society moves away from fossil fuels, industrial processes are being electrified, and through digitalization, the amount of power intense datacentres increases. As Finland's second largest electricity producer, UPM Energy wants to enable meeting the needs of growing demand for electricity," Stefan Sundman, UPM Energy's Vice President for Stakeholder Relations, says.
One of the sites that is being developed is a solar power project in Haukkasuo and Kiikunsuo in Utti, Kouvola. The land is owned by UPM-Kymmene Corporation and is ideally suited for solar power development due to, among other things, its good solar radiation conditions.
Haukkasuo and Kiikunsuo have so far been leased for peat production. This activity is coming to an end in the next few years and the area has attracted a lot of interest from solar power developers.
"Solar power would provide a great opportunity to continue the area's long history of energy production beyond peat production. As a landowner, we see areas like this as prime targets for solar power development. We don't want to develop solar power on productive forest land and cause deforestation," says Juha Rissanen, UPM Forest's Land Use Manager.
