Nearly 12 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage capacity is planned in Finland, according to project statistics compiled for the first time by Renewables Finland. In July, Finland’s total battery storage capacity stood at just over 1.6 GW, while nearly 1 GW of new capacity is currently under construction. Batteries help balance the power system by storing electricity and supporting grid frequency through rapid response.
According to Renewables Finland’s statistics, a total of 11.9 GW of battery storage capacity is planned in Finland. Of this, 213 projects (7.8 GW) are hybrid projects planned in connection with renewable energy generation, while 34 projects (4 GW) are stand-alone battery storage projects. The projects have a combined energy storage capacity of 36 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Currently, 14 projects are under construction, totalling 995 MW and 2.8 GWh. A further 49 projects, with a combined power capacity of approximately 1.7 GW, have received building permits. Most of the planned battery projects are currently in the permitting and assessment phase, and not all of them will ultimately reach the construction and operational stages.
Battery storage helps balance the power system as the share of variable electricity generation increases.
“A battery storage system makes a wind or solar power project an even more flexible part of the power system. The high level of battery project development reflects the progress of the energy transition. We are becoming increasingly capable of making effective use of domestic renewable electricity and managing its variable generation at the system level,” says Matias Ollila, Director of Advocacy at Renewables Finland.
Electricity generation and consumption must be balanced at all times, and batteries can respond rapidly to changes in the system. The principle is simple: batteries store electricity when supply is abundant and feed it back into the system when demand is higher. The rapid growth in battery investments is an encouraging sign that the electricity market is responding to the changing needs of the power system through market-based solutions.
Most of the battery storage projects currently planned are intended to be built alongside wind or solar power plants, for a logical reason. A battery installed in connection with electricity generation improves the project’s ability to manage fluctuations in output and also helps reduce deviations from generation forecasts.
Explore the battery storage project statistics
The battery storage statistics are being published as a separate dataset for the first time and have been compiled using information collected from industry operators. The statistics may not cover all hybrid and stand-alone battery storage projects planned in Finland.
*AI-assisted translation*
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