The portfolio is growing klimaVest acquires another wind farm in Finland

klimaVest has done it again and after acquiring a wind farm with 58.8 megawatts (MW) in the summer of 2021, has now purchased another plant with 39.9 MW in the western Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia. In fact, klimaVest can draw on almost unlimited resources in the land of a thousand lakes. Whilst only 141 wind farms were commissioned in 2021, 437 were commissioned in the following year. As a result, wind power capacity increased by 75 percent to 2,430 megawatt-hours in 2022 alone.¹

This high-speed expansion is entirely in line with the Finnish government’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2035 ² – even though it is estimated that total demand will increase by a further 20 percent through the electrification of transport and industry by then. Even complete decarbonisation is realistic by 2050, according to a study by the Finnish innovation fund SITRA.³

One reason for such ambition may be the raising of awareness among young people during their studies. The fact that this is a clever approach has also been recognised in Germany and we are working together with Finland to achieve this. In February this year, a group of students from Stralsund University (HOST) travelled to Kotka, Finland, to meet students from the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK). The cooperation has a long tradition. This time it was a question of which strategies other countries are pursuing in the expansion of renewable energies. 

Instead of talking about it, different scenarios were played through in the energy and climate simulation game “Krafla” developed by Tilman Langner.⁴ In this process, energy companies from six countries in a fictitious world are given the task of making a profit by buying and operating power plants. Six groups of students represented one energy supplier each and took on different roles in the company. Their goal – and therefore profit – was to achieve the highest relative enterprise value.

A certain upper limit for greenhouse gas emissions could not be exceeded. This was complicated by various starting positions – from companies from industrialised nations with a high number of power plants to suppliers from developing countries with a small power park. All of them, on the other hand, had a high share of fossil-fuel power plants in common. The game was played in five year cycles, then the results were assessed, discussed and decided. In the end, “saving the world” was a success – even if it was only just, as the participants themselves admitted.⁵

But it is by no means just the younger generation that wants to counteract climate change. In 2019, twelve Finnish senior citizens founded the group “Aktivistimummot” - in English: Activist Grannies.⁶ Their goal: is to leave a liveable world for their grandchildren’s generation. This means respecting nature, saving energy and avoiding all types of waste. In order to motivate climate-conscious behaviour, the women relentlessly spread knowledge and understanding of climate and nature. What began as a coffee meet-up is now a cross-generational movement with 6,000 members. 

Irrespective of the personal commitment of its people, Finland can cope more easily with the lack of gas imports than Germany can. For one, gas accounts for only around five percent of the Finnish energy mix, and for the other, the Baltic Connector pipeline was commissioned at the beginning of 2020. Finland is thus connected to the Baltic gas network via Estonia, which in turn is connected to Central Europe via Poland. Since December 2022, a floating liquefied petroleum gas terminal off the coast of Finland has been supplying the gas that is urgently needed by industry in particular, which in turn also supplies the Baltic region with gas.  District heating and four nuclear power plants also contribute to the diversification of the energy mix.  

The wind farm just acquired by the international project developer, Energiequelle, built in the record year 2022 described at the outset, comprises seven N163 turbines with 5.7 megawatts of output and a height of 126.5 metres and generates (purely in arithmetical terms) green electricity for around 15,269 average Finnish households. While the project developer, Energiequelle, continues to be responsible for the technical and commercial management, the renowned manufacturer, Nordex, is taking over the long-term full maintenance.

In electricity sales, Commerz Real continues to rely on a mix of long-term power purchase agreements with companies with strong credit ratings and free marketing on the electricity exchange. The fund's Nordic strategy can also be regarded as set. “We will continue to actively screen investments in Finland and neighbouring Nordic countries,” says Timo Werner following the conclusion of this recent deal. The next one is already awaited with excitement.