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Finnish electricity consumption growth seen levelling off
Helsinki (AFP) Nov 10, 2009 Finland's government said Tuesday it expected electricity consumption to grow slower than previously forecast in the next 20 years as the global economic recession had dented industry's energy use. The ministry of employment and the economy said in a forecast that the country's electricity consumption would rise from around 80 terawatt hours this year to around 91 terawatt hours in 2020 and to 100 terawatt hours in 2030. Previously it had been forecast that consumption would reach 98 terawatt hours by 2020. "Electricity consumption has settled into a lower-than-expected growth trend, due to the current economic recession, a structural change in the forest industry and the intensely growing efficiency of electricity consumption in households and services," the ministry said in a statement. Finland's electricity-hungry paper industry has faced dwindling demand and overcapacity in Europe and has been shutting down pulp and paper mills in the Nordic country, which has led to decreasing electricity use. The ministry said it expected production of paper and cardboard to continue to fall in Finland for the next decade. The data showed that industrial electricity consumption has declined since the second half of 2008, as international demand for Finnish machinery and paper has decreased. The ministry predicted energy consumption by the industry and construction sectors would increase by 0.2 percent to 47.9 terawatt hours by 2030 from 44.4 terawatt hours in 2008. Around 25 percent of the electricity used in Finland is produced by four nuclear power plants. The fifth, which is being built by France's Areva and Germany's Siemens in Olkiluoto, western Finland, will raise that level to 36 percent. However, the ministry pointed out that Finland needs to build new power plants in the next two decades and warned that the renewable energy target of 38 percent of all consumption by 2020 will not be reached unless new methods are introduced. "Without such measures, it seems likely that the share of renewable energy will only rise to one third. In this respect, even greater efficiency in energy consumption than the latest estimates will prove necessary," it said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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