The 211MW Piiparinmäki onshore wind project in Finland has been officially opened by the former Finnish Prime Minister and current speaker of the Parliament, Matti Vanhanen.
Glennmont Partners from Nuveen (Glennmont) acquired the project in 2019, working with developers Ilmatar Energy on the scheme.
The Finnish onshore wind farm, which entered commercial operation in June, is one of the largest constructed unsubsidised wind farms in Europe and is a key wind power asset in the Nord Pool region, providing vital infrastructure to support the green energy transition.
Located in the regions of Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia, the project has been constructed using wind turbine technology from Vestas, including 13 V150 4.2MW wind turbines, and 28 V150 5.6MW turbines, at a hub height of 150m.
Piiparinmäki has partnered with Google to offtake generation from 24 of the 41 turbines through a 10-year PPA.
The remaining generation being sold through a merchant agreement with Vattenfall.
Its opening marks a significant milestone for Glennmont’s third Clean Energy Fund.
Glennmont have joint ownership in Piiparinmäki, alongside their partners Kansai Electric Power Company, who are involved in the project as a minority stakeholder after purchasing a 15% stake in 2020.
Glennmont has worked closely with Ilmatar Energy, who provided an important role in the Balance of Plant contracting and provision of construction management services at the site.
Day-to-day operations will be provided by Ilmatar Service as the technical and commercial management agent, with oversight from Glennmont’s Asset Management team.
As part of their ongoing management of the project and support of local ESG initiatives, the owners have established a community benefit scheme.
This will provide €100,000 per annum to support local projects that improve the lives of those living near the Piiparinmäki Wind Farm through environmental, social and economic initiatives.
Peter Dickson, Founding Partner at Glennmont Partners said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the official opening of Piiparinmäki.
“This wind farm will serve as a vital component in Finland’s clean energy mix.
“For the project to achieve this milestone is a brilliant tribute to all the hard work of our partners and project team who have helped us reach this point.
“The role of wind power and other renewable technologies in providing energy security and delivering low carbon power is more important than ever before, and at Glennmont we look forward to advancing more projects in the Nordic region following Piiparinmäki’s success as we grow our business in this market.”
Ilmatar Energy’s chief executive Juha Sarsama added: “This is a significant milestone moment for Ilmatar Energy.
“We are extremely proud that we’ve built the largest wind farm in Finland and one of the most significant renewable energy sources in the Nordics.
“We are a vanguard of Northern European renewable energy production, and Piiparinmäki is a strong example of our capabilities.”