Energy consumption declines in 2019

The total consumption of energy in Finland amounted to 1.36 million terajoules (TJ) in 2019, which corresponded to a fall of one per cent year on year, according to the Statistics Finland.

The consumption of electricity totalled 86.1 terawatt hours (TWh), which was two per cent less than that in the previous year.

The consumption of fossil fuels and peat decreased in total by seven per cent.

The consumption of coal and peat decreased most, by 20 and 8 per cent respectively. Carbon dioxide emissions from the use of fuels diminished correspondingly by seven per cent. The use of renewable energy grew by one per cent, remaining at a record high level just like in previous years.

In 2019, the use of renewable energy grew by one per cent year on year. The consumption of wood fuels continued to grow for the fourth consecutive year and their use rose again to record high in 2019.

The share of wood fuels in Finland’s total energy consumption was 28 per cent in 2019. The use of wood fuels in energy production and manufacturing grew by two per cent compared with that in 2018.

The production of hydro power, dependent on the water situation, fell by seven per cent.

The production of hydro power decreased for the fourth year in a row, but the production of wind power continued to grow, by three per cent year on year. The annual production of wind power reached a new record, as nearly 80 new wind farms started in 2019. The use of solar power grew by 53 per cent from that in the previous year but its share of total energy consumption is still only 0.5 per cent.

Nearly 38 per cent of total energy consumption and 43 per cent of final consumption was covered by renewable energy sources in 2019.

As late as 1990, the share of renewable energy in total consumption was just 18 per cent, after which it has grown steadily, growing in the 2010s clearly faster than before.