Technology group Wärtsilä and Tornion Voima, subsidiary of EPV Energy, are building a new engine power plant in Finland. With a total capacity of about 43 megawatts, the engine power plant will be Finland’s first to provide balancing capacity to the power system upon completion. With it, Tornion Voima will be able to guarantee electricity production during various disturbances and varying weather conditions.

Significantly increasing the use of renewable energy is crucial in achieving climate goals and a carbon-neutral future. Finland is already one of the world’s leading countries in utilising renewable energy: its share of total energy consumption is over 40%, and the goal is to increase this share to 50 percent still during the 2020s. Particularly, the share of wind and solar power is growing rapidly.

“The availability of wind and solar power varies by nature and ensuring availability even during cloudy and low-wind weather requires flexible and reliable electricity production capacity. For this, a modern engine power plant is the best option. It can be started quickly, only when needed and only for as long as necessary. In addition, engine technology has the best average efficiency in these types of operating conditions,” states Kenneth Engblom, Vice President, Africa and Europe at Wärtsilä Energy.

According to the Finnish energy system modelling published by Wärtsilä in April 2024, the introduction of flexible and reliable electricity production capacity would not only increase the system’s reliability but also affect the development of electricity prices. The model suggests that Finnish electricity users could save up to 1.3 billion euros per year if the capacity were increased by 2 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

At the new Tornio power plant, natural gas will be used as the main fuel in the initial phase of production. Only a small amount is needed for the balancing of electricity production. Existing regional gas infrastructure will be utilised in the commissioning of the power plant. This enables a transition to sustainable fuels later on. Wärtsilä engines are already capable of running on sustainable fuels and will do so as soon as they become widely available.

The construction work on the power plant will begin this autumn at the Outokumpu factory area in Tornio’s Röyttä. The power plant is scheduled to be commissioned in February 2026, and the final construction work will be concluded later that spring. Wärtsilä will be responsible for the construction from spring 2025 until the completion of the power plant.