VSB Develops Future Solutions Based on Hybrid Energy Production

VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi Oy is expanding its operations in the field of renewable energy. In the future, the company will also develop solar power projects in addition to wind power projects. Besides the development of independent solar farms, VSB is exploring the synergies of combining solar and wind power projects. The aim is to develop future energy production solutions based on hybrid models combining different forms of production.

The first hybrid farm to be developed entirely by VSB will be in Haapavesi, where the company is planning a 49-turbine Puutionsaari wind farm with a total capacity of around 350 MW. A solar farm of around 100 MW is planned adjacent to the wind farm, to be built on a former peat production site acquired by VSB. Nature surveys have been carried out on the site during the summer of 2023 and the permitting process is currently underway. The aim is to complete the permitting process by the end of the year.

The technical solutions of the hybrid farm have been tested in Juurakko, Kalajoki, where VSB built its first wind-solar hybrid farm in cooperation with Solarigo Systems Oy, the company that built the solar power plant. Juurakko consists of seven wind turbines with a combined capacity of 40 MW and a 13 MW solar power plant with more than 24,000 solar panels. The production control system developed for Juurakko can be used for different energy production combinations in the future.

Thanks to the synergy between the two forms of production, a hybrid farm combining wind and solar power produces energy more evenly than one with either wind or solar power: there is more wind in winter than in summer, and more sunlight in summer than in winter. Hybrid farms use a variety of production balancing systems and will in the future also allow for the integration of other energy production solutions.

“Hybrid solutions can be flexibly customized in projects according to needs and possibilities,” says Seppo Tallgren, Managing Director at VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi. “As an expert organisation, we already have the expertise and readiness to build various hybrid solutions.”

Hybrid farms also have advantages from a land-use perspective: the energy produced by different types of production can be connected to the national grid via the same interconnection points, eliminating the need for separate electricity transmission lines. Solar farms included in hybrid solutions also provide a sensible way to make use of former peat production sites, as in Puutionsaari.

“Haapavesi does not yet have any industrial-scale solar farms, although the popularity of solar power has grown significantly in North Ostrobothnia. We would love to see one in Puutionsaari in the form of a hybrid farm. From the point of view of electricity transmission, it makes sense to locate solar and wind power in the same areas. VSB is a logical partner for the hybrid farm, as they already have practical experience of a similar project in Kalajoki,” says Kimmo Hinno, Mayor of Haapavesi.

In the context of Finnish energy production, investing in solar energy and hybrid solutions play an important role. The integration of different forms of energy production brings balance to energy production. As the price of renewable energy in Finland is low by European standards, it also attracts new investment to Finland.