The construction work for the Tolpanvaara wind farm has been completed and all 13 wind turbines are producing electricity. In total, the farm produces nearly 250 gigawatt-hours of green electricity per year, which covers the annual consumption of nearly 40,000 Finnish households and helps cover the ever-increasing demand for renewable energy.
The wind farm's wind turbines were supplied and installed by Nordex, while the foundations of the wind turbines and the roads and other infrastructure were built by Infra Builders. Anti-icing devices were installed on the wind turbines, which reduce the risk of ice falling from the wind turbine blades and help keep the farm operating even in more difficult conditions. The wind turbines have now been received from the wind turbine manufacturer and only grid tests await.
The Tolpanvaara wind farm is located about 30 km from the town of Pudasjärvi, on a plot of land owned by the Finnish state and managed by Metsähallitus, the Finnish forest administration. Tolpanvaara is Enefit Green's only wind farm located in Finland and also our northernmost wind farm. The wind farm located on top of hills is distinguished from Enefit Green's other wind farms, among other things, because its frequent guests are reindeer, who visit the foundations of the wind turbines to warm themselves in the sun. In order to study the impact of the construction of the wind farm, we installed GPS devices on five reindeer to monitor the movement of the animals during the construction and operation period of the wind farm,' explains Lauri Ulm, Head of Wind Energy at Enefit Green. Based on the collected information, researchers can analyse how the wind farm affects the reindeer's movement habits.
As the area is used for forest management, there are no residences in the area of the wind farm, which means that possible disturbance accompanying the wind farm caused to the locals is minimal. However, the wind farm has created new jobs for the builders of the farm and will continue to provide work for its maintainers.
Enefit Green has dedicated an investment of approximately 83 million euros towards the development of the wind farm.
Enefit Green investeeris tuulepargi ehitusse ligi 83 miljonit eurot.
Watch the video, to see what Enefit Green's northernmost Tolpanvaara wind farm in northern Finland looks like.
