HELSINKI: The consumption of hard coal increased by four per cent in January to March 2016 compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to Statistics Finland’s preliminary data. The consumption of hard coal as a fuel in the generation of electricity and heat amounted to 1.1 million tonnes, corresponding to 25 petajoules in energy content.
Compared to the average for January to March in the early 2000s, the consumption of hard coal was now 32 per cent lower, the data show. The consumption of hard coal grew by 12 per cent in January from one year previously. The reason for this was the particularly cold weather, which, according to the Finnish Energy Industries, raised the demand for district heating all-time record high.
The weather got milder and ten per cent less coal was consumed in February than one year before. March, in turn, was colder than last year and the consumption of hard coal increased by eight per cent. Most of the hard coal consumed in Finland is used in combined heat and power production. The use of hard coal in separate production of electricity diminished clearly in recent years. Condensing power plants have been removed from use and the profitability of the plants in use has weakened due to the fallen price of electricity on the Nordic electricity market.
Hard coal consumption in Finland typically fluctuates seasonally. Some of the fluctuation is explained by the natural variation in the need for electricity and heat between the summer and winter seasons. At the end of March 2016, stocks of hard coal totalled 2.9 million tonnes or 18 per cent lower than one year earlier.
