Solar energy for printer on the North Pole

The city of Oulu is very busy building a reputation for renewable energy and a solar power unit is part of that. The local Oulun Energia Group will install 1600 solar panels on the roof of the local newspaper Kaleva, according to the Finnish broadcasting group YLE. This should deliver 420 kilowatt of energy. This makes it the biggest solar power unit in Finland.

“On a clear summer day, we expect to gain up to 90 percent of the electricity required to run the Kaleva printing operations via solar. Annually, the solar energy obtained should cover about 10 percent of the printing house’s electricity costs,” says Kaleva’s CFO Esko Jokelainen.

Although the unit does not deliver a lot of power, the location is definitely challenging. In December Oulu gets 4 hours of daylight, in June it gets an average of 21 hours and 21 minutes. However, Oulun Energia Group is convinced that solar power has a future in Finland.

“Solar energy systems are suitable for both businesses and consumers. Using them in the summer time to cool down property is particularly profitable. The cost of the panels is low, the payback period is reasonable and in ideal locations, the costs are clearly cheaper than grid electricity.” says Oulun Energia Group’s Sales Director Seppo Tuomi.
Oulu is the largest city in northern Finland and the sixth largest city in the country, with a population over 200,000. The city wants to be a living laboratory for new technology. Oulu ranks fifth in Europe in per capita research and development spending.