Finland’s electricity needs could be met by wind energy thanks to the vastly improved efficiency of the technology, a new report suggests.
The VTT Research Centre of Technology (VTT) paper points to the fact new wind tech can operate in low-wind environments; with ‘higher towers and larger rotors’ the hallmarks of the new generation of wind turbines, making them five-times more efficient.
“Sufficient wind power is available in Finland. Technology and land use restrictions affect the available wind power potential, i.e. annual energy production. The key issue is to decide on the extent to which this potential is realised. In practice, wind power is intended to cover part of electricity consumption. Large-scale use of wind power will require new kinds of solutions throughout the electric power system,” said Research Scientist Erkka Rinne of VTT.
Wind energy meets 10% of Europe’s electricity consumption, with the continent home to a number of pioneering new and ongoing projects, including Vattenfall’s record-breaking European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Scotland, where a single rotation of the turbines designed by MHI Vestas can power an average household for 24 hours.
