Electricity consumption and weather-dependent electricity production will increase, while regional adjustable electricity production will decrease in southern Finland in particular.
Both transmission and distribution systems may experience regional and temporary shortages of grid connection capacity until major main grid investments have been completed. This will mainly affect connection capacity for production on the west coast and connection capacity for consumption in southern Finland.
According to Petri Parviainen, Fingrid’s Unit Manager for Main Grid Services, no new customers on the west coast or in southern Finland can be connected to the main grid until 2027 at the earliest.
We have received enquiries for 500,000 megawatts of production and consumption grid connections, yet our current peak consumption is 15,000 megawatts.
“We have received enquiries for 500,000 megawatts of production and consumption grid connections, yet our current peak consumption is 15,000 megawatts. All customers are seeking to secure their connection to the main grid, even though some are still unsure whether or not their projects will go ahead,” says Jussi Jyrinsalo, Senior Vice President at Fingrid.
Capacity confirmed in advance
In principle, Fingrid will only make agreements on grid connection capacity for customer projects once their permits are legally valid. However, the type and size of project will influence the content and duration of the permit process.
Fingrid has now introduced a conditional connection agreement in order to enable and streamline large-scale consumption projects with lengthy permit processes. It is intended for industrial consumption projects to be connected to the 400 kV grid with the size of at least 250 megawatts, which often take 5–10 years to complete.
“A conditional connection agreement can be signed once the customer has received a reasoned conclusion from the project’s EIA procedure, the environmental permit process has been initiated, and the customer has acquired or leased the land for the project site. The network investments required for the customer’s connection must also be both technically and economically feasible within a reasonable timeframe,” says Parviainen.
A conditional connection agreement sets out the terms and conditions for the connection of the customer’s project. The customer pays the connection fee and Fingrid will make provisions for the customer’s power requirements in its investment plan.
The customer receives early confirmation of their required capacity.
“The customer receives early confirmation of their required capacity, which is essential for making the final decision on the investment and moving forward with the project,” says Parviainen.
“With a conditional connection agreement, both Fingrid and the customer move from a request to a project, and checkpoints are created to track its progress,” says Jyrinsalo.
More information and greater accuracy
In order to better anticipate the need for connections to the electricity network, Fingrid will also be improving the flow of information concerning connection plans.
In the future, Fingrid will store information in a standard format. This data will cover large-scale consumption and grid energy storage connections that are being planned by both distribution system operators and industrial projects that will be directly connected to the main grid.
The procedure will apply to consumption connections of more than 2–10 megawatts in southern Finland and to grid energy storage connections of 1–5 megawatts throughout the country. The lower limits will vary from region to region.
“This approach will give us more accurate information about the needs of those in need of grid connection as well as distribution system operators and, and also about future growth in electricity production and consumption,” says Jyrinsalo.
“It will be easier to calculate the main grid’s available capacity for the coming years, and thereby offer as many customers as possible the opportunity to connect to the transmission and distribution systems,” says Parviainen.
The requirements for connecting to the main grid will remain unchanged. Approval must be sought from Fingrid when customers want to sign a connection agreement for new consumption or grid electricity storage, or would like to increase the capacity, also in case of an existing distribution grid connection agreement.
Alternative ideas and approaches to usage
Additional measures will be needed to manage grid connection capacity. Jyrinsalo gives three examples.
“We will introduce a flexible connection agreement when the amended Electricity Market Act comes into force. Customers who sign it will agree to be flexible with their consumption when there is a lack of grid capacity.”
This flexibility will allow customers to get connected to the grid even before the necessary grid reinforcements have been completed.
“It would also be a good idea to make this model permanently available to customers who are naturally flexible,” says Jyrinsalo.
He notes that Finland should also consider prioritising customer needs at some point.
“Will we continue to operate on a first-come, first-served basis, or will we prioritise industrial projects or urban heating projects?”
Jyrinsalo says that we should also consider the future possibility of Fingrid guiding the geographical location of some customer projects. For example, a battery-based energy storage facility could be located where it would not prevent or slow down the implementation of a major industrial project.
