Finland: VSB Group commissions Karahka wind farm with 148 MW
In Oulainen, in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, the Karahka wind farm, developed and built by VSB Finland, has been successfully commissioned. Owned by the Finnish utility company Helen and the Bank of Åland Wind Power Special Investment Fund, the 25 wind turbines are spread across an area of approximately 2,300 hectares and will produce electricity with a capacity of around 148 megawatts. The completion of the wind farm will meet the needs of an increasingly electrified society, significantly increasing the domestic share of wind power and enhancing Finland's energy self-sufficiency.
VSB Finland began developing the Karahka wind power project in 2016. In 2022, the project entered its construction phase when building permits were issued. In the same year, VSB sold Karahka to Helen and the Bank of Åland Wind Power Special Investment Fund, while remaining responsible for construction and commissioning.
Dr Felix Grolman, CEO of the VSB Group, comments: "With the commissioning of Karahka, VSB demonstrates its comprehensive expertise – from project development and approval to construction. This impressive team achievement underlines our position as a reliable partner in the energy transition. We look forward to our next major projects in Finland, which are already in preparation."
"The Karahka wind farm is the second in a series of domestic renewable energy projects delivered by VSB to Helen and Ålandsbanken. The project implementation, for which VSB obtained the permits, has proceeded very smoothly for our customers, and the wind farm will be commissioned on schedule. At VSB, it is important for us to support our customers' goals of increasing emission-free power generation capacity and contributing to clean energy solutions both in Finland and across the EU," says Seppo Tallgren, Managing Director of VSB Finland.
The stake in the wind farm enables Helen to continue its substantial investment programme, under which the company is investing one billion euros in emission-free energy production over two years. Helen holds the majority ownership of the wind farm with a 51% stake.
“The Karahka wind farm is a significant addition to the emission-free electricity supply of Helen and Finland as a whole. This strengthens Finland’s competitive advantage by lowering electricity prices, enabling investments based on clean and affordable power. The wind farm's completion also supports Helen’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 and the transition to geographically distributed, carbon-neutral power generation,” says Pekka Tolonen, VP of Power Generation at Helen.
For the wind farm VSB, Nordex and its partners decided to use an innovative solution for the tower construction where each of them consists of 27 concrete tower blocks with a steel section on top. This marks a significant breakthrough in wind power construction, allowing greater hub heights. The concrete components for the hybrid towers were locally produced by Lujabetoni in Kärsämäki. The collaborative project between Lujabetoni and Nordex for manufacturing the Karahka concrete parts won the public vote for ‘Wind Power Project of the Year’ held by the Finnish Wind Power Association.
“It is great to complete a construction project that took approximately 2.5 years, both on time and within budget. What makes this project particularly special is its exceptionally high domestic content, with the concrete towers manufactured by Lujabetoni. The collaboration with VSB has been excellent, and I extend my thanks to them and all contractors for a successful project. Most importantly, the commissioning of the wind farm will enable us, together with our partner Helen, to produce significantly more renewable electricity for the Finnish market,” says Jimmy Forsman, Portfolio Manager of the Bank of Åland Wind Power Fund.
