French renewables developer Neoen and clean energy cooperative Prokon have begun construction of a 40MW wind project in Finland.
The partners have provided notice to proceed to wind turbine supplier Nordex and contractor Keski-Suomen Betonirakenne, signalling the start of the construction of their jointly owned Björkliden wind farm in Närpes.
The wind farm will comprise seven Nordex wind turbines and will be connected to the Brännas substation via a 7 km 110kV underground cable.
It is scheduled to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2024.
The project is underpinned by a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) signed in January 2022 with IT company Equinix, for 85% of the green energy and guarantees of origin to be produced.
The PPA was awarded in the competitive tender issued by Equinix to provide renewable energy for its premises in Finland.
The agreement is partially indexed to market prices.
Björkliden wind farm will deliver competitively priced electricity, while contributing to Equinix’s global commitment to become climate-neutral by 2030.
Neoen owns an 80% stake in the project, the remaining 20% being owned by Prokon.
The wind farm is located just a few kilometres from the 81MW Hedet wind farm, commissioned early 2020, which is also jointly owned by Neoen and Prokon and connected to the Brännas substation.
Jerri Loikkanen, Managing Director of Neoen Finland, said: “We are delighted to see the Björkliden wind farm get off the ground earlier than anticipated.
“We would like to thank the local communities and the municipality of Närpes for their continued support and renewed trust.
“With this great project, we are proud to actively contribute to Finland’s goal of achieving energy independence and enhanced competitiveness and to help reach the target of net zero emissions by 2035.”