Fortum to Build Solberg Onshore Windfarm

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Finland's largest utility, Fortum Oyj (HEL:FUM1V) (Espoo, Finland) is pushing ahead with its plan to invest more in renewable energy by giving the green light for a 75- megawatt (MW) onshore windfarm in Solberg, in northern Sweden.

The company has made a final investment decision for the Solberg wind park project, which will use 22 wind turbines with a total capacity of 75 MW from Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX:VWS) (Aarhus, Denmark). Solberg will be capable of generating 250 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, enough to supply around 50,000 households. Construction is expected to start with ground works this summer, with commissioning to take place in early 2018. Industrial Info estimates that the project is worth $113 million. Fortum said that municipality-owned power company Skellefteå Kraft AB (SKAB) (Skellefteå, Sweden) has an option to participate in the project with a 50% share, subject to decision by its municipal owner and authority approvals.

Fortum recently announced plans to grow its solar and wind power portfolios through development and selective acquisitions. It purchased the permitted Solberg wind project from Arise AB (STO:ARISE) (Halmstad, Sweden) in February.

"Sweden is a natural choice for Fortum in wind power," explained Kari Kautinen, senior vice president, Mergers & Acquisition and Solar & Wind Development at Fortum. "It is one of our largest home markets and there we have the majority of our hydro capacity that is crucial in balancing the variability in wind power production. We have had good cooperation with Skellefteå Kraft in the Blaiken wind power park, and we are looking forward to continue our cooperation also in Solberg."

Hans Kreisel, chief executive officer of Skellefteå Kraft, added: "There aren't that many sites in Sweden that have wind conditions suitable for large scale land-based wind power parks, so this is a rare investment opportunity. We are also pleased that it means a continued cooperation with Fortum".

Last week, Fortum revealed plans to invest up to 400 million euro ($452 million) in India's rapidly developing solar power sector. The government there wants to ramp up its current solar generation total from 5.25 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by 2022. The company said: "India offers one of the best solar resources and a sound government support for the development of solar sector." There has also been speculation that it will seek to buy stakes in Indian solar projects owned by SunEdison Incorporated (NYSE:SUNE) (Maryland Heights Missouri), which filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection last week. For additional information, see April 22, 2016, article--SunEdison Files for Bankruptcy, to Proceed with Ongoing Projects.

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