Finnish retailer S Group is building a new wind farm in Eurajoki, which after completion will enable the company to meet 100% of its electricity requirements from in-house renewable energy sources.
The wind park will have 13 wind turbines, which are scheduled to commence production at the beginning of 2025.
The electricity produced in this park will cover about 20% of the electricity requirements of the shopping group, or the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of more than 300 S-markets.
The wind farm is being built in stages and the company is exploring the possibility of industrial-scale solar electricity production on the same premises.
'Significant Investments'
CEO Mikko Halonen from S-Voima, said, "It is important to us that the electricity of our nearly two thousand locations and our country-wide electric car charging network is sustainably produced both from an environmental point of view and from a self-sufficiency point of view."
"Cooperatives have made significant investments in Finnish electricity production in recent years. Investments in increasing one's own renewable energy production are especially important with the energy crisis. It was important to complete this project, even though the economic situation has tightened and production costs have changed."
Over the past decade, S group has invested nearly €1 billion in wind power production in Finland.
Approximately 20% of the investment has been spent on developing the infrastructure of the area, such as the road and cable network.
It has teamed up with wind power company Vestas for installing the wind turbines.
Renewable Energy Production
S Group already generates more than 80% of the electricity it needs from its own wind power resources.
Previously, the company invested in 27 large wind farms in Simon Sarvisuu, which alone accounts for about half of the trading group's electricity production.
In addition, more than 100,000 solar panels produce electricity that meets 5% of the demand locally.
S Group plans to make its own operations carbon negative by 2025, which means that it will bind more carbon from the air than it produces.
By the end of 2030, it aims to reduce climate emissions by 90% from the 2015 level.
S-Voima Oy, jointly owned by SOK and the cooperatives, is responsible for the electricity procurement of the S Group, the company noted.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
