Häkämies: Clean domestic energy will balance the current account and create 40,000 jobs in cleantech

This autumn, Jyri Häkämies, Minister of Economic Affairs, will present a clean energy programme to the Government as part of the energy and climate strategy update. The programme aims at balancing Finland’s current account by investing in the production of clean domestic energy and reducing the import of energy by one third.

Under the programme, a clean energy lead market will be established in Finland. Finland will be the first country in Europe to abandon the use of coal almost completely by 2025, and to reduce the use of natural gas by 10 and the use of oil by 20 per cent.

The promotion of wood and waste based bioenergy, wind power and solar power plays a key role in the development of domestic energy production. Additional investments will be made in enhancing the energy efficiency of industry, transport and housing and in generating new business that aims at export.

– Core competencies of cleantech in Finland include clean production of renewable energy and enhancing energy efficiency. The aim is to create 40,000 new clean tech jobs in Finland by 2020. The city of Vaasa alone has estimated its energy cluster to employ 10,000 new employees. Energy efficiency is the world’s fastest growing cleantech sector and Finland’s strength lies in combining ICT with energy expertise. At least 2,000 ICT experts may be employed in the field of energy efficiency by 2020, says Minister Häkämies.

In 2012, the Finnish Government will allocate some 400 million euro of funding to the cleantech sector. From the beginning of next year, public funding will focus increasingly on energy efficiency and clean energy. As a new funding channel, the aim will be to allocate a minimum of 1 per cent, or some 325 million euros worth of public procurement to supporting the introduction and commercialisation of new cleantech solutions.

Minister Häkämies’ plans include providing incentives for the production of renewable energy, and obliging energy companies to purchase small-scale producers’ surplus electricity. Tax incentives will be proposed for electric cars. In addition, genuine energy and environmental sector centres of expertise and reference sites will be created in Finland. A report is being prepared on a state guarantee system for plants demonstrating new clean technologies. The internationalisation of cleantech companies is being supported particularly in the growing markets: China, Russia, India and Brazil.

In addition to cleantech based renewable energy and energy efficiency, the clean energy programme’s aim is to implement all three nuclear power plants, for which either a construction licence or a decision-in-principle has already been granted.

For further information, please contact:

Jyri Häkämies, Minister of Economic Affairs, tel. +358 29 506 3501

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