CO2 emission from fuel-used energy slides 16%

Total energy consumption in January to September amounted to 894 petajoule (PJ), which was 11 per cent less than in the corresponding period last year, according to Statistics Finland.

Electricity consumption amounted to 59.1 terawatt hours (TWh), or seven per cent less than one year earlier. Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy use of fuels declined by 16 per cent year-on-year.

The consumption of all fuels decreased in January to September from the year before. The effect of the coronavirus was particularly visible in the consumption of liquid fuels in transport.

Oil consumption decreased by 16 per cent compared to last year's January to September period. Of other fossil fuels, the consumption of hard coal decreased by 26 per cent and the consumption of natural gas by five per cent in January to September from the year before.

The accelerating decrease in the consumption of coal has been affected by the ban on the use of coal for energy, which will enter into force in 2029. The consumption of peat was 25 per cent and that of wood fuels 14 per cent lower than one year ago.

Over the January to September period, total electricity consumption fell by seven per cent compared with twelve months back. In addition to the warm weather, the fall in electricity consumption was affected by lower consumption of electricity in manufacturing.

Favourable weather conditions in the early part of the year boosted hydro power and wind power by 25 and 23 per cent, respectively. As a result of the grown production of hydro and wind power, less electricity was imported than in the year before. Net imports of electricity declined by 26 per cent from the previous year.

In January to September, diverse energy products were imported into Finland to the value of EUR 5.1 billion, which was 36 per cent less than one year earlier.

Most energy products were imported from Russia, whose share of the value of imports was 55 per cent. Exports of energy products from Finland amounted to EUR 2.8 billion.

The value of exports decreased by 33 per cent from the January to September of the year before. Energy products were exported most to OECD countries, which accounted for 75 per cent of the value of exports.