Hitachi Energy's technology ensures clean electricity from Finland's largest solar PV power plant

The power plant is Finland's largest ongoing solar power project, generating 30 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to heat about 1,600 private homes.

"It is really great to be a technology partner in this pioneering clean energy project to support Finland's journey toward carbon neutrality. A carbon-neutral energy future will be built on electricity, and electricity will be the backbone of the entire energy system. In the ongoing energy transition, transformers are among the key technologies to help build a sustainable energy future," says Matti Vaattovaara, Managing Director at Hitachi Energy in Finland.

Solar power is currently the fastest-growing renewable energy source¹ in the world. According to forecasts by national grid operator Fingrid, in Finland, solar power generation capacity will increase 10-fold by 2030².

At the Lakari solar power plant, Hitachi Energy's power transformer raises the voltage level to the level needed to transmit the electricity produced by the plant. The maximum capacity of the Lakari solar power plant will be around 30 megawatts, with an annual electricity production of 30 gigawatt hours. Upon completion, the plant will provide enough electricity to heat around 1,600 private homes³.

Hitachi Energy works alongside its partners on renewable generation projects throughout the full life cycle of the power plant - from power system modeling and design, to technology and project delivery, including competitive asset management.

Hitachi Energy has a strong track record of supporting the growth of renewable generation, both in Finland and globally as it advances the world’s energy system, making it more sustainable, flexible, and secure. With this goal in mind, the Vaasa transformer factory has produced transformers for Finland and exports these around the world, ensuring clean wind power for several million households. In Finland alone, more than 50 percent of the wind power generated for homes, businesses, and industries flows through transformers and grid connection solutions supplied by Hitachi Energy.

In addition to transformers and reactors, the company's technology expertise also includes connecting power plants to the grid and providing a wide range of digital software and service solutions for power generation forecasting, control, monitoring, optimization, operation, and maintenance. This ensures competitive, trouble-free, and high-quality clean electricity generation.

To further speed up the construction and integration of wind and solar farms into the grid, the company has developed a range of modular and prefabricated grid connection solutions, called Grid-eXpandTM, that are lifted onto their foundations in their entirety, directly from the truck bed. Turnkey monitoring, operation, and maintenance services are based on real-time data, and the MicroSCADA digital solution ensures that electricity generated from renewable energy sources is reliably transmitted to the grid and end consumers.

The earthworks for the Lakari solar power plant in Rauma are underway. Solar power production is estimated to start by spring 2024.