Helen’s clean electricity capacity is growing — the Karahka wind farm is now operational
The Karahka wind farm in Oulainen has been commissioned, representing the continuation of Helen’s significant investments in Finnish clean energy. Comprising 25 wind turbines, the wind farm covers an area of approximately 2,300 hectares and has an electricity production capacity of approximately 148 MW. By completing the wind farm, Helen is responding to the needs of our increasingly electrified society and significantly increasing the domestic content of wind turbines and, consequently, Finland's self-sufficiency in energy production.
Greater significance than its size would suggest
"The Karahka wind farm is a significant addition to emission-free electricity production for Helen and Finland as a whole. It strengthens Finland’s competitive advantage by lowering the price of electricity, thereby enabling investments in Finland that are based on the consumption of clean and affordable electricity. The completion of the wind farm also supports the achievement of Helen’s carbon neutrality target for 2030 and the clean transition to carbon-neutral and geographically dispersed electricity production," says Pekka Tolonen, VP Power Generation at Helen.
The Karahka wind farm represents the continuation of Helen’s substantial investment programme, which will see Helen invest EUR 1 billion in emission-free energy production over a period of two years. Helen is the majority owner of the wind farm with a stake of 51 per cent. The wind farm's other shareholder is Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund Non-UCITS. The construction phase began in autumn 2022 and was the responsibility of the project’s developer and client, VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi Oy, which is part of the international VSB Group.
"The Karahka wind farm is the second Finnish renewable energy project delivered by VSB to Helen and Ålandsbanken. The permit processes for the project were carried out by VSB. Its implementation for our customers has gone according to plan, and the wind turbines will be deployed on schedule. For us at VSB, it is very important to help our customers achieve their goals of increasing emission-free electricity production capacity and thus participate in creating emission-free energy solutions in Finland and in the EU as a whole," says Seppo Tallgren, Managing Director of VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi.
The construction of the wind farm also created over 100 person-years of work for Lujabetoni, which manufactured the concrete components for the new hybrid towers at its production plant in Kärsämäki.
A breakthrough in wind power construction
The Karahka wind farm features a new approach to wind power construction, with each tower being constructed from 27 concrete tower sections and a steel tower section on top of them. This represents a significant breakthrough in wind power construction, one that makes a higher hub height possible.
"We are pleased to have completed this two-and-a-half-year construction project on budget and on schedule. What makes this project even more special is its exceptionally high domestic content owing to the concrete towers manufactured by Lujabetoni. The cooperation with VSB has been very smooth, and on behalf of our fund, I would like to thank VSB and all of the contractors involved for this successful project. The most important thing for us, of course, is that the commissioning of this wind farm enables us to produce significantly more renewable electricity for the Finnish electricity market with our partner Helen," says Jimmy Forsman, portfolio manager at Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund.
The joint project between Lujabetoni and Nordex to manufacture the concrete towers for the Karahka wind farm also won the audience vote for the Finnish Wind Power Association's "Wind Power Achievement of the Year" award.