Renewable energy use hits record in 2016

The use of renewable energy sources grew two per cent in the country in 2016, making a new record, according to Statistics Finland.

Renewables covered 34 per cent of the total energy consumption and, according to the preliminary data, barely 39 per cent of the end use. The consumption of fossil fuels also rose seven per cent.

The total consumption of energy in Finland amounted to 1.36 million terajoules (TJ) in 2016, which corresponds to a four per cent growth from that in the previous year.

The consumption of electricity totalled 85.2 terawatt hours (TWh), which was three per cent more than in the previous year.

The share of renewable energy in total energy consumption was 34 per cent in 2016. Wood fuels remained the biggest energy sources in Finland and their share of total energy consumption was 26 per cent.

The consumption of wind power grew 32 per cent and energy extracted with heat pumps from the environment 23 per cent. The consumption of biofuels in transport, in turn, fell 64 per cent from the record level of two preceding years.

Annual variation in the consumption of biofuels is caused by Finland’s biofuel legislation, which allows the distributors to fulfil the bio obligation flexibly in advance. Although the consumption of renewable energy sources rose compared with the previous year, their share of total energy consumption and also of end consumption declined slightly. This is because the amount of other fuels simultaneously grew more than renewable energy sources.