"It is an encouraging success that we have already obtained the first building permit."
The wind farm will be built in a forest near the town Haapajärvi of 8,000 residents in the region Nordösterbotten, about 450 kilometers north of Helsinki. The wind measurements at the site are still in progress. The two turbines are expected to produce more than 12,000 megawatt hours of electricity each.
The appeal period has expired, so the Vestas V126 turbines are now ready for construction. Preparatory work for construction has already begun. Because of the long Finnish winter, construction is usually possible only between April and October. Thus, the wind farm is scheduled to go on-online in the spring of 2015.
Its prospective buyer is ABO Invest AG, which has secured a preemptive right by a deposit. ABO Invest is owned by 3,000 citizens, foundations and cooperatives and operates more than 50 wind turbines across Europe. Finland will be the fourth country for ABO Invest to produce climate-friendly electricity.
In Finland, the development of wind power has just begun. The aim of the administration is to quickly expand their current 450 megawatts of installed capacity (end of 2013) to 2,500 megawatts. Until the end of 2015, Finland rewards wind farms with an additional starting bonus. ABO Wind has partnerships with five local project developers to achieve a swift market entry. For the development of wind farm Haapajärvi, ABO Wind’s partner is "Infinergies Finland Oy." Currently the ABO Wind Finland team is working on projects with a rated output of more than 300 megawatts. "We are expecting additional building permits next year," says Dr. Klaus Pötter. "With our first, relatively small project in Haapajärvi, we can gain valuable experience in the emerging Finnish market and also distinguish ourselves as a key player."
The local partners facilitate contact with local landowners, government agencies, politicians and citizens. ABO Wind has in-depth expertise in turbine construction and grid connection as well as site evaluation, financing and selection of turbine types and will thus contribute significantly to the success of the projects.
