Helsinki shutters last coal plant, as it turns to heat batteries and pumps

Finnish energy company Helen Oy has shuttered its last coal-fired power plant, a milestone which ends coal use in the capital Helsinki and puts Finland on the brink of eliminating coal entirely from its energy mix.

Helen Oy said this week it has shut down its 177MW Salmisaari coal-fired power and heat plant in Helsinki thanks in large part to the company’s investments in carbon-neutral power generation, including heat batteries and heat pumps.

Coal has been a major part of Finland’s energy mix, accounting for 64 per cent of the district heating requirements in the capital as recently as 2022, although it had been largely eliminated as a contributor to the electricity grid.

The transition from coal has been supercharged after Finland passed a law in 2019 banning the use of coal as a fuel for either electricity or heat production, which would come into effect on May 1, 2029.

That prompted the closure of the Hanasaari coal plant and now the Salmisaari coal plant in just two years, slashing the city’s emissions by 43 per cent.

“Energy production is no longer be based on fossil fuels in Helsinki,” the company says. “Helen’s investments in carbon-neutral production, such as Europe’s largest electric boiler plant and the world’s largest heat pump, have enabled Helen to move away from coal completely.

“Going forward, the Finnish capital will transition into electrified energy production based on heat pumps utilising waste and environmental heat, electric boilers, energy storage and sustainably produced bioenergy. Helen produces electricity mainly from wind, nuclear, hydro and solar power.

The facilities include Europe’s largest electric boiler plant, a 200MW electric boiler plant with heat batteries boasting a combined capacity of 1,000MWh, and the world’s largest heat pump, a 33MW air-to-water heat pump that will be used for a district-heating plant.

Both projects are expected to be operational and able to begin production during the heating season of 2026-27.

Lest anyone imagine that consumers in Finland are paying the price for the country’s energy transition, Helen was quick to point out that it has already reduced its customer prices for district heating twice since May 2024.

Helen also predicts that the total average price of district heating for 2025 will decrease by an average of 5.8 per cent compared to 2024.

“We have been able to improve our competitiveness by investing in the flexibility of the energy system in line with our strategy and shifting our production to clean solutions,” said Olli Sirkka, CEO of Helen Oy.

“This way, we can operate more profitably with lower customer prices. Our success is an excellent indication that, at best, the clean transition, cost efficiency and Finland’s security of supply can go hand in hand.”