Finnish retailer K-Group will source approximately 20% of its electricity from domestic wind farms by 2023.
The company has agreed to purchase approximately 50 GWh of electricity annually from 2023 onwards from a new wind farm to be built in Northern Ostrobothnia.
The amount of electricity sourced from this deal corresponds to Kesko's total annual electricity consumption in its construction and building services trade and car trade.
K-Group's long-term partner Gasum will supply the company with renewable electricity generated in the new wind farm.
'Self-Sufficiency'
Building technology manager at the K-Group, Antti Kokkonen, said, "The self-sufficiency of electricity production also speaks for itself in Finland. We in the K-Group want to contribute to increasing the production of renewable electricity and the self-sufficiency of electricity in Finland.
"When we increase the procurement of wind power from Finland, we will promote the reduction of emissions from electricity production in Finland as a whole."
According to the Finnish Wind Power Association, Finland's annual wind power production is projected to increase from the current 8TWh to more than 16TWh by 2024.
Carbon Neutrality
The K-Group, which has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, is constantly looking for new ways to reduce emissions.
The company plans to reduce emissions systematically to achieve zero emission by 2030 in its operations and transportation.
As of 2017, all electricity procured by the K-Group's electricity procurement company Ankkuri-Energia for K-stores and other Kesko properties in Finland is from renewable resources, such as hydropower or bioenergy.
In recent years, the K-Group has invested in solar power and is one of the largest producers and users of solar energy in Finland, operating 42 solar power plants.
In 2020, the company entered into a long-term wind power procurement deal with Germany's wpd group to acquire more than 40 GWh of wind power, from a new wind farm to be built in Finland, for 15 years from 2023 onwards.
The total amount of wind electricity purchased annually from the wpd Group and Gasum is estimated to be more than 90 GWh.
