HELSINKI: Solar energy has become a profitable investment for companies, communities and farms. The change has been fuelled by solar energy subsidies and low interest rates, energy expert Jero Ahola told the news agency STT.
Ahola, a professor of energy efficiency at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, said the use of solar energy by housing companies could become more common through so-called “network measurements”.
The electricity system would work as a kind of bank: electric energy produced during the day and supplied to the network during the day could be taken advantage of in the evening. Solar panels for households can be a smart investment for the future, Ahola said. The panels will improve a home’s energy rating.
“Studies in the US have shown that solar panels increase the property value the same way, for example, marble countertops in the kitchen do,” said Ahola. The honour of being Finland’s largest solar power plant is changing hands almost every other month. Next month, the largest solar energy system will be held by the Oulu-based media company Kaleva.
In the autumn, the title will be snatched away by the Helsinki Kivikko ski hall, which is erecting a solar power plant on its roof.For now, the largest solar power plant in Finland is in Helsinki’s Suvilahti.
