Companies, cities reduce 10.3 TWh energy use yearly

Companies and municipalities that have signed energy efficiency agreements introduced nearly 19,000 different energy efficiency measures, saved 10.3 terawatt hours of energy each year, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release on Monday.

The impact of energy saving measures implemented by Finnish industry, the energy, service and real estate sectors and municipalities by the end of 2021 corresponded to the annual energy use of more than half a million electrically heated single-family houses.

The majority of saved energy is heat and fuels (81%) and the rest is electricity (19%). In medium-sized industrial companies and the service sector, electricity accounts for a significantly larger share of the savings.

Due to the energy efficiency measures implemented, the annual energy costs of those who have joined the agreements were estimated to be over EUR 430 million lower than they would have been without these measures at the end of 2021.

“It is always a good idea to save energy. It is particularly wise in the current situation where energy efficiency contributes to the reliability of our electricity network and prevents power cuts during an energy shortage,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

The more than 650 companies that have signed the agreement and their nearly 7,000 operational units as well as 121 municipalities and joint municipal authorities have reported on energy efficiency investments amounting to over EUR 1 billion in 2017–2021.

Most of these investments are related to the energy efficiency measures introduced in industry and the energy sector. Numerically, most of the measures have been implemented in the service, real estate and municipal sectors.

Between 2017 and 2021, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment supported energy efficiency investments by more than EUR 100 million in companies and organisations that have joined agreements concerning the business, municipal or real estate sector. Support was granted to 1,006 projects that would not have been realised without it.

The energy efficiency measures carried out in 2017–2021 will cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 2.3 million tonnes, which corresponds to the carbon footprint of over 220,000 Finnish people, on average. Energy efficiency is essential for building a carbon-neutral society and striving to increase energy self-sufficiency.

“Energy efficiency measures are a crucial means to reach our emission targets, and they also drive our energy expertise forward. There is demand for solutions that improve energy efficiency all over the world,” Lintilä said.