Solar Power Just Miles from the Arctic Circle? In Icy Nordic Climes, It’s Become the Norm

The use of solar is increasing in Finland and other Nordic countries. Aitiopaikka, an apartment complex in Turku, sports 516 rooftop solar panels. Credit: Turku Student Village Foundation (TYS) OULU, Finland — For years after northern Finland’s largest printing plant blanketed its facility’s eight roofs with solar panels, the curious beat a path to the extraordinary spectacle. There were skeptics who doubted that solar power would pay off in this northern city, just 100 miles shy of the Arctic Circle, a geography known not for its sunny climes but rather its dark, snow-bound, sub-zero winters. "They wanted to see what we’d done, how it worked, whether it worked," said Juha Röning, chief technician at the Kaleva Media printing plant. In 2015, the 1,604 solar photovoltaic (PV) units made Kaleva Media’s rooftop the most powerful photovoltaic solar plant in Finland, and indeed in all of Scandinavia’s north country. Today, Kaleva Media’s rooftop PV park is no longer a curiosity—it’s not even the largest solar producer in the city of Oulu, much less all of Finland. Across Europe’s far north, municipalities, businesses and households are increasingly taking advantage of solar power as solar cells’ efficiency increases and costs fall. Our stories. […]

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