Wind power and municipal climate solutions as drivers of the green transition in Northern Ostrobothnia
In the coming years, the European Union will strive for global leadership in sustainable social development. The new growth strategy, called the European Green Deal, aims to promote both economic growth in the EU area and ecologically and socially sustainable development. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the energy transition and municipal climate solutions are the core themes of the green transition. Ten of the county's municipalities have joined the Hinku network, coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute. In the ongoing Northern Ostrobothnia Climate Roadmap project (POPclimate), the EU's and Finland's climate targets are integrated comprehensively into the development of the region. Ritva Isomäki, who works as a project manager on climate and circular economy themes at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, has seen how climate change has risen to the centre of development work. “Climate issues have risen from marginal to mainstream to guide other development themes. For us, promoting climate issues today is the same thing as boosting the regional economy," Isomäki says. The county's municipalities have profiled themselves to the highest level in their climate work. The emissions of a municipality with 10,000 inhabitants, which has also received international recognition, have decreased by as much as 60 per cent between 2007 and 2017. The key success factor has been the local development company Iin Micropolis Oy, whose area of operations extends to the Oulu region and partly to the rest of the region. From peat to wind power and battery technology innovations in Northern Ostrobothnia, peat has played a particularly important role in the energy mix until recent years. The energy use of peat is strongly concentrated in the Oulu region, where a few large-scale district heating plants and industrial CHP plants consume the majority of all peat fuel in the region. For example, about 60 per cent of the district heat produced by Oulun Energia is still produced with peat. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the rapid phasing out of the use of peat for energy is a tough blow to the peat production industry in the area. In the 2010s, the sector directly employed almost 500 people in the region and, together with its multiplier effect, approximately 750 people. Support through the EU's Just Transition Fund (JTF) is projected to primarily accelerate the replacement of peat with other energy sources. On the other hand, the plight of companies and workers in the peat sector is unlikely to be greatly alleviated by these subsidies. “Many entrepreneurs have large capitals attached to heavy special equipment and some also to the ground. Dealing with this issue fairly is of the utmost importance", says Ritva Isomäki. Compared to the peat sector, the outlook for wind power production in Northern Ostrobothnia is exactly the opposite. Today, almost 40 per cent of the nation's wind power is produced in the region, more than anywhere else …
