Last year, total energy consumption in Finland fell by about one per cent, Statistics Finland announced on Monday. Electricity consumption decreased by about two percent compared to 2018, mainly due to less demand from heavy industry.
Coal use fell 20 percent, while peat combustion fell eight percent. As a result of the reduction in the use of these two high – emission fuels, CO2 emissions from fuels decreased by 7% in 2019.
Renewable energy sources up to 43%
The use of renewable energy sources increased by about 1% to 43% of total final energy consumption. Although hydropower production decreased for the fourth year in a row, Finland used more wind power and wood-based energy.
Finland has exceeded its target for the share of renewable energy, 38 per cent, in the last six years. It boasts the EU’s second largest share of renewable energy in final energy consumption, second only to neighboring Sweden.
Total electricity production decreased slightly, while imports increased slightly and accounted for 23 per cent of consumption. Imports from Sweden, including hydropower, increased by 16 percent, while imports from Russia decreased by 3 percent. Finland’s electricity exports, on the other hand, went mainly to Estonia.
Source: The Nordic Page