Finnish developer Ilmatar has secured state support to develop a 366MW renewable energy hybrid park.
The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE) has granted €20m in aid to Ilmatar Energy for the wind-solar-battery park to built in the areas of Alajärvi and Kyyjärvi.
Ilmatar is already into the process of building the park’s 216MW wind farm in Alajärvi, which will host 36 wind turbines.
The new project that was granted will add a new industrial-scale solar farm in the immediate vicinity of the wind farm, which will have a capacity of 150MW, plus a 50 megawatt hour battery.
On completion it will be the largest renewable energy hybrid park in Finland.
The total budget of the solar farm project is €97.8m.
The Alajärvi wind farm, which will be built under market conditions and without subsidies, is an investment of €217m.
“We’re very proud of the fact that the EU and MEAE are supporting Ilmatar Energy in this hybrid park project, which represents new thinking, as well as our national level goal of establishing a completely fossil-free energy system in Finland.
“This aid will allow us to carry out the project swiftly in one go and on a large scale,” said Juha Sarsama, CEO of Ilmatar.
The hybrid park project will make use of the electrical infrastructure built for wind power in the park area.
In addition to its own staff, Ilmatar Energy will also employ a considerable number of subcontractors from South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and other parts of Finland through the project.
The project planning phase will be launched at the beginning of 2023.