Policy initiatives in Finland
In addition to increasing the national share of renewable energy to 38% in 2020, Finland focuses on energy efficiency and nuclear power to cut emissions from the energy sector.
Energy system policies
Finland’s energy efforts are largely guided by their national Climate and Energy Strategy, which includes detailed policy measures up to 2020 and suggestions up to 2050. The strategy points out increasing energy efficiency, increased share of renewable energy sources and the use of nuclear power as means to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but also clearly underlines that these goals cannot be attained without new, prominent climate and energy policy measures.
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is encouraged by several governmental initiatives. In their 2009 report, the Finnish Energy Efficiency Committee outline the measures needed to reduce energy consumption in 2020 by 11% compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Finland was one of the first countries to launch governmental energy auditing schemes, which is a comprehensive assessment of energy use with the goal of identifying ways to save energy. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy can subsidise energy audits for industrial and energy facilities, entire transportation and logistics chains, and service organisations in the public or private sector. The Ministry of the Environment can cover energy audits conducted for residential apartment blocks. The different sectors can participate voluntarily in various efficiency agreement schemes.
Trading incentives
Trading in green certificates is conducted on a voluntary basis by energy consumers who wish to ensure that their energy comes from renewable energy sources. Industrial, commercial, public sector or private energy-users can purchase green certificates from trading markets, or sign voluntary agreements to buy their electricity through green electricity schemes. In 2011, Finland introduced a new feed-in tariff (FIT), guaranteeing a constant price for the produced electricity from wind, biogas and wood-based fuel. This is hoped to spur renewable energy technologies to a greater degree than the investment subsidies of the past.
Energy technology policies
Meeting the target of 38% renewable energy within 2020, will require an intense increase in the use of wood-based energy, waste fuels, heat pumps, biogas and wind energy. Bioenergy has been the most common technology target for policies in Finland. Indeed, up until 2009, peat was the only energy source to be guaranteed a minimum energy price through feed-in tariffs. Energy-intensive process industries are abundant in Finland, and many efficient technologies focus on process improvements. Wind energy has potential in Finland for broadening the base of renewable energy sources, and also features as a target technology in Finnish policies over the last decade, mainly through subsidies. Support for solar power has been a single policy over the last decade - the same investment subsidies offered to wind.
EFFICIENT: Finland invests significantly in energy efficiency RD&D activities. Public Energy RD&D Budgets, Million EUR 1975-2008. SOURCE: see below
Distribution of Public Low Carbon Energy RD&D Budgets, Million EUR 1975-2007. DATA: IEA. SOURCE: Klitkou et al (2010) "Nordic Energy Technology Scoreboard"
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