Finland’s large-scale solar capacity more than doubled in 2025, buoyed by the commissioning of the country’s first solar projects larger than 50 MW. Another record year for ground-mounted solar is expected this year but a forthcoming Land Use Act risks threatening future projects.

Finland deployed 227 MW of utility-scale solar last year, according to figures from Renewables Finland. The figure is a record for large-scale solar in a calendar year for Finland, taking the country’s installed industrial-scale solar capacity to 352 MW.

A total of seven ground-mounted solar plants were completed in Finland last year, led by the 107 MW Utajärvi solar project, the country’s largest to date, developed by Skarta Energy in the region of North Ostrobothnia.

Klaara Tapper, Advocacy Manager at Renewables Finland, told pv magazine the Utajärvi park is one of numerous solar PV projects located in a former peat production area, which she said is a distinctive characteristic of the Finnish solar power scene.

The 70 MW Simo solar park, developed by Exilion Tuuli Ky and Solarigo Systems Oy, was also commissioned last year, marking the first utility-scale solar project in Finnish Lapland and according to Tapper, possibly the northernmost utility-scale solar park in Europe. “The municipality of Simo is a great example of a local community that has taken an active mindset when it comes to the new era of green industrial transition,” she said.

Tapper added that more utility-scale capacity is expected to be added this year. “There are a couple of large projects about to be completed that already make up the difference,” she explained. “Such as the Kalanti solar power plant of over 200 MW located in Uusikaupunki, southwest Finland.”

Other projects set for completion this year include a 100 MW solar park in Eurajoki, western Finland, which has the country’s largest power purchase agreement to date.

Official data covering Finland’s smaller-scale solar installations in 2025 is yet to be published. Last June, the Finnish Energy Authority said Finland’s cumulative solar capacity reached 1,247 MW by the end of 2024, with 1,124 MW coming from solar installations less than 1 MW in size. A total 240 MW of solar was added across all market segments in 2024. Renewables Finland is estimating that utility-scale installations could surpass rooftop in terms of cumulative capacity by 2028. 

Tapper said European funding has been crucial to the growth of industrial-scale solar in Finland. Last May, the European Commission offered €52.4 million ($61.7 million) in funding for seven solar projects in Finland delivered through the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism. The year prior, seven solar projects totaling 213 MW received backing from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. 

Tapper added that despite the first large-scale solar parks paving the way for a new era, the Finnish PV market is still facing several challenging situations. 

“Last year, Finland was among, if not the, most affordable electricity market in Europe, which is great for consumers and households, but does not exactly encourage new energy production projects,” she said. “And even more significant is the overall nation-wide economic stagnation.”

On the regulatory side, a new Land Use Act looks set to bring a new strict zoning requirement that would apply to all solar power plants above 50 hectares. “The current government has been anything but gentle when it comes to renewable energy,” Tapper said. “[The new act] is unjustified and unnecessary, and we expect it to lead to slower and more expensive project development, and even to projects being discontinued.”

The Land Use Act is expected to enter Finnish Parliament in early 2026, though it is still uncertain when it would come into force. Revising the restriction would significantly improve the prospects of Finnish solar power, Tapper said, while also suggesting adjustment to property tax levels to match those for onshore wind power.

“These time- and cost-efficient measures are some of Renewables Finland’s key advocacy goals approaching the Parliamentary elections of 2027,” Tapper added.

via pv magazine International https://ift.tt/9fCHcJv