Finnish energy provider Fortum has joined forces with Swedish land and forest cooperative Orsa Besparingsskog to build a wind park in the Orsa Finnmark area in the Dalarna province of Sweden. The planned plant will be comprised of up to eight 2MW to 3MW wind power plants.
According to Fortum, the site has been chosen because of its favorable wind conditions. The park’s calculated annual generation is equal to the annual electricity consumption of 10,000 average households.
Fortum added that another benefit of the park’s planned location is its close proximity to two of the company’s hydro power plants and, therefore, to the transmission network. As a result, expensive infrastructure investments will not be needed.
Fortum and Orsa Besparingsskog each hold a 50% interest in the project, and expect to invest around E22 million to E33 million in the facility, depending on its final size. Should the investment proceed as planned, the first wind power plants will be ready for operation in 2009.
Goran Hult, head of Fortum’s power generation in Sweden, said: The wind power park we are now planning is part of Fortum’s long-term investment program through which the company consistently increases its environmentally-benign power generation capacity.
Since 2000, Fortum has invested E7 billion in CO2-free power generation, mainly in hydro and nuclear power.