Finland catching-up in wind turbines

Finland lags behind the rest of the Nordics in terms of energy use from wind turbines. The country hopes to construct 200 new wind turbines by the end of this year, which would bring the country's total to over 700. Denmark already boasts more than 4,000 onshore and offshore turbines – while Sweden has more than 3,000.

Finland's Wind Power Association says there were 552 wind turbines in the country at the end of 2016. Estimates put the number of new generators scheduled to be built in 2017 at between 150 and 200.

This means Finland will soon boast a wind turbine fleet of over 700 turbines, with a combined capacity of approximately 2,000 to 2,200 MW, but even then, the country will still lag behind other Nordic countries in wind energy production.

Anni Mikkonen, executive director of the association says that even though Finland was one of the largest investors in wind power in Europe last year, Germany increased its capacity ten-fold during the same period.

The Swedish wind power firm OX2 has been building four wind turbines in western Kokkola, on the shoreline of the Bothnia Bay. They should be complete by the end of October. It usually takes another two weeks or so to hook the new turbines up to Finland's grid. 

One new turbine per week - if it's not windy

Project leader Pasi Tammivaara says that it takes about one week to erect a single turbine, if the winds cooperate. Building work has to be called off every time the winds get too strong, for safety reasons.

"The wind limits when we are building the steel tower is 10 metres per second. When we install the blades, this falls to 8.5 m/s. It is normal to have wind delays in this work, because most wind farms are located in areas with windy conditions," he says.

Work at the site ranges from periods of frantic activity to standstills due to windy conditions. If weather conditions permit, assembly work continues for up to 10 hours at a time.

Still contributing less than 5% energy

Once finished, the new wind farm in Kokkola will have a 14.4 MW capacity, with a projected annual production rate of 556 Wh. The finished hub height, the distance from the platform to the rotor (not including the turbine blades) is 134 metres.

Before the erection of the tower, extensive excavation on the site is necessary to shore up the foundation and build service roads, for example.

Kokkola's groundwater situation has made this site in particular more of a challenge, in that the surrounding terrain needed to be protected before the work could begin. It also required that the foundation for the soaring structure be partially enclosed above ground, as it couldn't be completely buried underground to protect the water supply.

Last year wind power accounted for 3.6 percent of Finland's total energy consumption.

Source: Yle News - Finland

Vestas receives largest order ever in Finland for 99MW

Last 7th of March TuuliWatti Oy has placed a 99MW order with Vestas for two projects in Finland using V126-3.3 MW turbines and the new Large Diameter Steel Tower technology. The order consists of two projects utilising V126-3.3 MW turbines and featuring Vestas Large Diameter Steel Towers (LDST), which allows for taller hub heights and therefore greater annual energy production at low wind speeds.

The order comprises the 73 MW Kalajoki project, which will be the first large-scale wind power plant in Finland. Delivery of the turbines will begin in the fourth quarter of 2014 and the project is expected to be completed in Q3 2015.

Delivery of the 26 MW Siikainen project will begin in Q3 2014 and is expected to be completed in Q1 2015. Both projects include a Vestas Online Business SCADA system and a five-year Active Management Output (AOM) 5000 service agreement with options for two additional extensions of five years.

The two projects feature the V126-3.3 MW, which can produce up to 20% more power compared to the V112-3.0 MW on a site with average wind speeds of 6.5 m/s. The towers for the projects will be the recently launched Large Diameter Steel Towers, (LDST), a Vestas-patented concept that features a special wider diameter lower section of the tower, resulting in increased strength without adding extra steel. Therefore Vestas can provide higher towers to customers to optimise power generation at
low wind speed sites for the V117-3.3 MW and V126-3.3 MW.

Finnish wind energy on the way up

Finland has one of the lowest amounts of wind energy capacity in Europe but the situation could be changing. Anni Mikkonen from the Finnish Wind Energy Association tells us why…

Finland’s target for 2020 is to meet 38% of the country’s energy consumption with renewable energies. The main renewable energy sources to meet this target are biomass, wind power and hydro power. In the national renewable energy action plan, the target for wind is 2,500 MW in installed capacity. It is not much compared to the leading wind energy countries in Europe, but it is an ambitious target for a country that has currently got a very modest wind energy capacity – only 198 MW.

So far construction has been extremely slow in Finland, but there will be a change in speed from this year onwards since the feed-in-tariff was implemented in March 2011 and work to remove administrative barriers has started. About 100 MW worth of wind power will be installed this year, which is a good start!

The rise in interest in the Finnish wind power market could also be seen at the EWEA 2012 Annual Event held in Copenhagen last month. There were at least 14 Finnish companies exhibiting – that must have been a record! There were also plenty of Finnish conference and exhibition delegates listening to the interesting presentations and making important connections. It seemed that wherever you went there was always a Finn around the corner!

The Finnish Minister of Economics, Jyri Häkämies, who is also in charge of energy issues, visited the exhibition on the final morning of the event. The visit was a very important signal to the industry showing that there is a really strong political will in Finland to reach the 2020 targets. Minister Häkämies talked about the importance of wind power in meeting the Finnish 2020 targets and said that administrative barriers will be removed.

Like in every other market, wind power in Finland still faces challenges. One of these could be local acceptance. However, public acceptance of wind energy is very high – according to a survey carried out by the Federation of Energy Industries in spring 2012, over 89% of Finns would like to see more wind power installed. The communications academy organised by EWEA after the conference gave participants excellent ideas on how to work with local people to gain local acceptance. For example, I was really interested to learn about a number of studies the Canadian Wind Energy Association have made on wind energy and health. Moreover, information I gained from wind farm developers and other national associations will help me write a code of conduct for Finnish developers later this year.

By Anni Mikkonen, Finnish Wind Power Association

source: http://www.ewea.org

Keep your landscape free of noise!

Soundim Rail innovative solutions are all about the noise barrier for the silent landscape.

In June 2013 the City of Tampere and the Traffic Authority of Finland completed the test project in Järvensivu, Tampere, Finland.

Soundim Rail is a new type of railroad noise barrier with innovative solutions, which revolutionizes the railroad noise prevention at various levels. The inclinable Soundim Rail facilitates the barrier installation and considerably simplifies special transportations and rail maintenance. The new barrier is only 85 cm high, so the railroad environment landscape stays almost undisturbed.

The barrier was built on both sides of the track, the other side being 0.85m high and the other side 1.1m high. The lenght of the barrier is 2*140m.

Source: http://www.soundim.fi/gb/

Pöyry appointed to deliver EPCM services for concentrating plant expansion project at Kittilä gold mine

Agnico-Eagle Finland Oy has awarded Pöyry a services contract, for the expansion project for the concentrating plant and leaching process at Kittilä gold mine. The contract is for the provision of a total EPCM service and Pöyry will be responsible for project management, engineering and procurement and construction management. The project is an expansion to the existing operational mine. Pöyry also provided engineering and construction management services for the initial development of the existing concentrating plant. Locally, the project will employ around 100 people at the construction stage and 30 people in the concentrating process.

The Agnico-Eagle Kittilä mine is one of the largest known gold deposits in Europe, with a gold reserve of nearly 5 million ounces. Currently, the mine employs 400 people and 180 contractors. The Kittilä mine area contains several open pit deposits and deep-lying ore is excavated from an underground mine. The mine processes 3,000 tons of ore per day, and is expected to produce approximately 150,000 ounces of gold per year. The gold is separated from the ore by pressure leaching. The expansion will increase the production by 25 per cent.

Pöyry has extensive global experience of executing demanding projects. For the mining industry, we deliver consulting, engineering and project services, as well as ongoing operational services for the mine itself. Services include mine feasibility, environmental impact, geology and beneficiation of ore.

The value of the order is not disclosed. The order was recognised within the Industry business group's order stock in Q1/2013.

Finland selects Finnish-Estonian Nortal for new tax system

Finland rejects IBM's "abnormally low" offer for new tax system, and selects Finnish-Estonian Nortal.

The Finnish Tax Administration is reforming their information systems, replacing seventy tax systems with a single one. Selected was the Fast Enterprises’ Gentax taxation software, along with Finnish-Estonian Nortal, who plans to implement the project for €62 million with the overall price of procurement running around €226 million over 15 years.

Also competing in the bid was IBM, whose bid of €38 million with a total value of €143 million over 15 years was rejected. The Finnish Tax Administration was able to do so under the public procurement laws, which says the contracting authority may reject abnormally low tender.

“For us, it is essential that the operational reliability and success of the taxation will be ensured also in the future,” said the Chief Information Officer of the Tax Administration, Markku Heikura.

The story isn't over yet. After being rejected, IBM is appealing the decision to the Finnish Market Court, who may reverse the decision.

Without any real baseline to compare it to, I don't know how to interpret this news other than to shake my head. On one hand, IBM's offer could have been purposefully low to win the contract, and could "discover additional costs" later, or to spit out a shoddy delivery. But at the same time you hear about the insane amounts of money governments pay to build a barely usable website, and you have to ask yourself where they think the baseline is for ICT spending. Take for example California's $2 billion court management system, which was eventually scraped.

Perhaps I'm again showing my naiveté, but since they're just implementing Fast Enterprise's Gentex software, it seems IBM's upfront of €38 million will buy you a moon-shot worth of man hours, even for a difficult problem like reliably putting together seventy tax systems into a new system. But I look at that winning bid and think, man, the number of entrepreneurs that would fund to build an even more badass tax system says  Greg Anderson.

In order to deliver quality results, the Finnish government should be able to reject bids that are too far south. But with the number of clown consultants driving up prices in these ICT procurements, it should be interesting to hear the Tax Authority's reasoning in court.

Source: http://www.arcticstartup.com

Report of Confidence Indicators (March 2013) from the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries released the report of Confidence Indicators for March, 2013.

Finnish manufacturing confidence stayed unchanged in March. However, the confidence indicator is clearly below its long-term average. The latest indicator figure is -9 (revised figure -9 in February, too). Its long-term average is +3. Production growth is expected to be weak in the coming months. Order books are well below their normal levels. Stocks of final goods have decreased somewhat but they are still slightly above average.

Construction confidence recovered somewhat but is still rather weak. The confidence indicator scored -22 points (revised figure -27 in February). Confidence is well below its long-term average (-6). Order books are smaller than average and personnel is expected to decrease during the next few months.

Service sector confidence indicator climbed to +4 points in March from 0 points in February. Despite the increase, confidence is rather weak as its long-term average is +15. Sales growth gained a little speed in March but only moderate growth figures are forecast for the next few months. The overall business situation has deteriorated further in the first quarter.

Finnish retail trade confidence indicator scored -7 points in March, down from -3 in February. The long-term average is 0 points. Sales growth became negative and expectations for the next quarter are also fairly weak.

Source:
Confederation of Finnish Industries EK

Is Banco Santander on the future for electronic payments?

iZettle Solves The Visa Problem: Launches A Bluetooth Chip & Pin Device

The VISA issue was one of the biggest hurdles for iZettle in Finland and pretty much everywhere else. They were unable to allow VISA transactions (For several reasons as outlined by VISA Europe) and since it is the major credit card brand in the country, many of the vendors were simply not motivated enough to use iZettle. They did try to solve the problem by introducing "a solution", however it was more of a hassle than a real solution.

Today, iZettle announced that they are introducing a new device based on Chip & Pin technology that will accept all major cards, including VISA. The Financial Supervisory Authority regulates iZettle and its services, which are EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) and it approved and confirmed compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).The way the device is going to work is by connecting to your smartphone or tablet via bluetooth, where the customer can then insert his or her card. The payment is then processed on the screen.

The device is said to be working with VISA, Visa Electron, V Pay, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express. Personally, I think that the bluetooth solution is much better than the previous version, as I was able to witness how the process worked using the old device since my wife used it at her Lakshmi Yoga Club. It was a cumbersome task to hold an already bulky iPad with one hand, while trying to manipulate the clients card into the iZettle reader. So with the new bluetooth solution, the device can just sit on the registration desk.

The new Chip & PIN device works with the free iZettle app. This time around, iZettle is not offering the device for free but the price is not something to be afraid of as he new card reader can be purchased at iZettle.com, for €49.

“Our vision from Day One has been to simplify and democratize payments, said Jacob de Geer, co-founder and CEO of iZettle. “Small business deserves a simpler, more mobile and affordable way to accept card payments. Adding a Chip & PIN device to our product offering will play an important part in making that happen.”

That's not the only news from iZettle today, they also announced a partnership with Banco Santander, one of the world’s largest and leading banks. So as of today, iZettle will be available to Santander banking customers in Spain.

Tuesday's updates on Nordic Business...

Nordic markets are securing bases... 

1) SinterCast secures new order for commercial vehicle series production installation
• Major European commercial vehicle OEM orders SinterCast process control technology
• SinterCast System 3000 to be installed in captive foundry during first quarter of 2013
• Product development and series production of heavy-duty CGI cylinder blocks
(http://www.sintercast.com/corporate)

2) According to Statistics Finland, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy was 2.3 per cent greater in the past October to December period than in the corresponding period twelve months earlier. In December alone, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy fell by 0.8 per cent year-on-year. In the October to December period one year ago, the wages and salaries sum grew by 3.4 per cent.

3) Ericsson sign USD 1 billion managed services contract for wireline and wireless networks for North and West India
• Covers 100,000 km of fiber and mobile infrastructure in 11 telecom circles, across North and West of India, including Delhi and Mumbai
• Will lead to productive integration of 5,000 employees by moving them to Ericsson - providing them global opportunities
• Integrated management to deliver world class customer experience using global expertise and bringing in operational efficiencies and cost optimization


4) Swedish Orphan Biovitrum
- Recombinant Fc fusion proteins show potential to transform care by providing long-lasting protection from bleeding with fewer injections than the current standard of care -
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) (STO: SOBI) released data that confirmed the ability of investigational recombinant factors VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) and IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) to provide long-lasting protection from bleeding with fewer injections than are required with the current standard of care for people with hemophilia. The data, from the largest phase 3 registrational studies conducted in hemophilia to date, were presented this week at the 6th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD).


5) Presentation of Telenor's fourth quarter results 2012. Telenor will present its financial results for the fourth quarter 2012 on Wednesday 13 February 2013 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation, which will also be broadcast live over the Internet, will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitor Centre at Fornebu near Oslo. The figures will be published on Telenor's website at 07:00 CET. CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. The presentation will be held in English.

Finland hopes to sell power to Russia to make cables pay

Up to 350 MW of Finnish exports to Russia technically possible - Russian capacity payments skew price differentials.



OSLO/HELSINKI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Finland's grid hopes within a year to be able to sell power to Russia, partly to earn more from underused interconnectors between the two countries, but the two markets are so different such exports may be tough to achieve.

Fingrid reported earning 6 million euros ($7.8 million) less on Russian interconnections in the first half of this year than a year earlier, as a rise in Russia's electricity prices made it less attractive to send power to its neighbour. Total revenue was 264 million euros in the first half.

The Finnish and Russian grid operators last year made technical changes to also allow power flows from Finland to Russia - a development the companies hope will boost trading volumes on their three connecting cables.

"Some trading (of exports) to Russia may well be possible within the next 12 months. But we still need to agree on the terms," Juha Kekkonen, the executive vice president of Finnish grid operator Fingrid told Reuters.

Russian power prices jumped this year partly due to an increase in payments to guarantee power plant availability, which has created a commercial need for imports and sharply reduced electricity transfers to Finland.

The technical changes have made it possible to export 350 MW of electricity from Finland to Russia, but different factors that determine prices in both market still make it unattractive for traders to send electricity to Russia, experts said.

TRADE VERY COMPLICATED

"Exports to Russia are technically possible, but as long as the designs of Nordic and Russian power markets remain so different, the trade will be very complicated," said Satu Viljainen, a professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland.

One differences is that Nordic power generators are paid for producing electricity, while in Russia producers get income both from selling power and having plants available for generation.

These so-called capacity payments are meant to guarantee that sufficient generating capacity is available to the market, but also to give incentives for investors to build new plants.

When Russian power export monopoly Inter RAO buys electricity on the market, it has to pay capacity payments on top of energy costs, and that can double prices.

Traders wishing to sell Nordic electricity to Russia, however, do not receive a capacity payment, leaving them with a high discount to prices national generators receive.

Kekkonen said capacity payments in Russia can add about 25 euros a megawatt-hour on top of the electricity price in Russia, driving total cost up to 50-60 euros a MWh during peak hours.

Wholesale power prices in Russia rose by 15 percent to 1,143 Russian roubles ($37.14) per MWh during the third-quarter from a year ago, Finnish utility Fortum, which owns power plants in Russia, said last week.

During the same period, the Nordic power prices fell by 42 percent to 20.8 euros ($27.23) per MWh, dented by abundant rain that increased supply of cheap hydro-power, it added.

The rise in Russian prices and fall in Nordic power reduced electricity imports from Russia to Finland to 3.0 terawatt-hours (TWh) in January-September, from 8.5 TWh during the same period a year ago, Finnish Energy Industries statistics showed.

"At the moment it makes no sense for Inter RAO to buy electricity from the Russian exchange and to export it (to Finland)," said Kekkonen.

Viljainen estimated that Russian exports to Finland could be profitable when prices in the Nordic market rise to at least 50 euros a MWh, an average level unlikely to be hit this winter.

In the opposite direction, Nordic power prices would have to fall below 20 euros a MWh, also unlikely as year-ahead power prices are currently trading at 38 euros a megawatt-hour.

"That creates the "dead-band" in flows when power prices in the Nordic market is between 20-50 euros a MWh," Viljainen added.

Inter RAO said power imports from the Nordics could be possible in future, but expected the impact to be modest.

"Clearly, imports (from the Nordics) might be economically feasible in certain periods," Inter RAO's spokesman Anton Nazarov said in an email to Reuters.

"In the long-run, even considering the recent exports decline, we do not have negative forecasts for future trade (balance) w i th the Nord Pool," Nazarov said, adding that the fall in the Nordic prices was seen as "cyclical".

"In a way, it's a test case that reveals a lot of how two markets of different designs can interact or not," Viljainen said of two-way power trading between Russia and the Nordic market. ($1 = 30.7750 Russian roubles) ($1 = 0.7638 euros) (Additional reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova in Moscow; Editing by Anthony Barker)

Source: Reuters
By Nerijus Adomaitis and Terhi Kinnunen

Understanding Finland's collateral deal with Spain

The euro crisis has had an impact on the man in the street, but many simply don't understand the convoluted arguments being waged by politicians, let alone the highly technical agreements being made in the name of ordinary taxpayers.

Dazed and confused? Read on for a deconstruction of the latest act in the euro crisis drama, the Spanish bank bailout. The main characters are Finland and Spain, with eurozone and European Union members cast as supporting players.

The Spanish problem: On June 25 the Spanish government turned to the EU for financial assistance with restructuring and recapitalization of its banks. The banking sector collapse was caused by a domestic credit boom that helped inflate a real estate and related construction bubble. When the wider euro economic crisis caused a recession and widespread job losses, huge defaults caused some banks to stumble. Flagging investor confidence also increased the cost of borrowing for banks, forcing the government to step in.

The European bailout proposal: European Union leaders meeting in Brussels at the end of June agreed to earmark up to 100 billion euros to help prop up the foundering Spanish banking sector. The precise sum to be loaned – to the Spanish government for the bank restructuring program – would be specified once due diligence tests had been conducted on the affected banks. The Spanish government would also have to agree to rescue only those banks deemed to be financially viable. Since the permanent EU bailout fund – the European Stability Mechanism or ESM – is still to come online, EU heads agreed to bankroll the Spanish bank bailout from the temporary European Financial Stability Facility, the EFSF.

Finland’s collateral deal

Finland’s government policy specifically requires the government to ask for collateral if the temporary bailout fund, the EFSF, is used for rescue packages. This is because loans from the EFSF do not enjoy seniority status, meaning, borrower states do not have to repay EFSF loans first, but can service other financial commitments, such as public and private sector debt.

The collateral requirement therefore ensures that Finland recovers some of its loan funds in the event that other loan commitments take precedence over EFSF repayments. Since both the Greek and Spanish bailouts were funded by the EFSF, Finland asked for – and received – collateral guarantees in both cases. The Spanish bailout was modeled on the Greek case one year earlier.

The Finnish bailout contribution: 1.925 billion euros

The Finnish collateral request: 40 percent of the Finnish loan contribution of 1.9 billion euros, or 769.92 million euros. The average duration of the loan is 12.5 years, not to exceed 15 years.

What Finland surrendered: The collateral deal came at a cost to Finland. Specifically, unlike other states that can pay their contributions in five installments, Finland will make its contribution in one payment. Finland also agreed to surrender its right to any interest earned on loans granted to Spain as part of the bailout.

How the collateral will be paid: The collateral will be paid into Finland’s collateral account once Finland’s contribution to the EFSF fund for the Spanish rescue package is paid to Spain. Finland will hold the collateral until Spain has repaid the loan. The cash will be paid out from Spain’s deposit guarantee fund, which essentially affords Finland the same level of protection as Spanish depositors.

Ratings agency vindicates Finnish collateral deal

In July the ratings agency Moody’s announced that it was downgrading the outlook for three of Europe’s strongest triple-A rated economies from stable to negative. At the same time, it affirmed the stable outlook for Finland’s triple-A economy, in the process knighting the small Nordic economy as the strongest in the European Union and the eurozone, in its view.

One of the reasons cited by Moody’s for maintaining Finland as “the sole exception among the Aaa-rated euro area sovereigns”, was the controversial collateral deals it negotiated in exchange for supporting an EU-led bailout of Greece last year, and the more recent rescue package for struggling Spanish banks.

The collateral guarantee brokered with Spain came under heavy criticism locally in Finland, with opposition parties protesting the rescue of private banks by Finnish taxpayers. Further afield in Europe, tiny Finland’s insistence on receiving collateral for its minute contribution of just under 2 billion euros of the weighty rescue package was seen as obstructionist by other European states.

Some analysts are now speculating however, that following Moody’s seemingly implicit endorsement of the Finnish collateral position, other European states may now be reconsidering the pros and cons of a similar arrangement in the event of future bailouts.

Sources

 

Yle News/Denise Wall

Wärtsilä gets propulsion order for the first LNG powered ferry in North America

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, has been awarded the contract to supply the gas powered propulsion machinery and corresponding gas storage and handling systems for a new passenger ferry. The vessel has been ordered by Canadian operator Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ), and will be the first North American ferry to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ship is being built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Italy and will be used on routes crossing the St. Lawrence River. The Wärtsilä contract was signed in October, 2012. The Wärtsilä equipment is due to be delivered in the autumn 2013, and the vessel is scheduled for delivery by the end of 2014.

The ferry is being built to comply with the stringent emission regulations applicable to its area of operation. With the Wärtsilä 34 dual-fuel generating sets, which will provide the main power generation, the stringent regulations will clearly be met. By operating on LNG, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are at least 85% below those specified in the current International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations, and the CO2 emissions are some 25% less than those of a conventional marine engine running on diesel fuel. The sulphur oxide (SOx) and particle emissions are negligible at almost zero percent. This level of environmental sustainability even exceeds the emission reductions mandated by the strict local regulations. The IMO has designated some U.S. and Canadian waters as an Emissions Control Area (ECA). This is in line with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The North American ECA became enforceable in August 2012.

Long experience in gas technology

In addition to the four main power generating sets, Wärtsilä will also supply its innovative LNGPac system. Designed and developed by Wärtsilä, the LNGPac comprises onboard LNG bunkering, storage tanks and handling equipment, as well as the related safety control and automation systems. The entire Wärtsilä propulsion solution is designed with a focus on safety and simplicity. All engines can be seamlessly switched to marine diesel oil (MDO) operation, should gas not be available, thus full redundancy can be achieved. This ensures that the safety factor is at the highest possible level.

“Wärtsilä is the established global leader in dual-fuel and gas engine technologies. All in all, Wärtsilä has now sold more than 2000 of its gas fuelled engines, which together have accumulated more than 7 million operational running hours in both land-based and marine applications. We are extremely proud to be contributing in a meaningful way towards more sustainable shipping,” says Aaron Bresnahan, Vice President, Wärtsilä Ship Power, Sales.

“I am very happy with the outcome of the very demanding design and construction process for this new ship due to start service in Matane, Baie-Comeau and Godbout in 2015. At 130 meters long and with a capacity for 800 passengers and 180 cars, the new ferry will be much larger and better equipped than the "Camille-Marcoux" that it will replace. Its larger hold capacity will be suitable for all types of vehicles. The crossing will be a more pleasant experience for passengers," comments Georges Farrah, CEO of STQ.

Source: Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 3 December 2012 at 12 noon EET

Ex-Rovio Team Gets Funding To Create A Game That "Will Live On For Decades"

Boomlagoon, a company formed by Antti Stén (Ex-Rovio Lead Server Architect) and Tuomas Erikoinen (Ex-Rovio Lead Game Artist, yes, he drew the Angry Birds) just received a round of funding by a rather impressive duo - Jari Ovaskainen and a seasoned games investor London Venture Partners, represented by David Gardner.

Ovaskainen was the founder of Iobox, which was sold to Telefonica for €215m while David Gardner is best known for being the former CEO of Atari, and EVP & COO of Electronic Arts. Notably, they both invested in Supercell as well.

Additionally they have also joined forces with Ilkka Halila (Ex-Rovio Web Game Programmer), who joined the team as a Co-Founder and CTO. Boomlagoon is being very secretive about their next game, but that makes it so much more interesting to try and figure out what they are up to.

full article and interview here

Source : http://www.arcticstartup.com

Analysts predict continued substantial losses for Nokia in Q3

The Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia’s serious problems have not eased off any in July-September, reckon analysts familiar with the company’s developments.

      In a survey by the British news agency Reuters, which included 40 analysts, the median forecast for Nokia’s Q3 result excluding non-recurring items is EUR 264 million on the minus side.
      The analysts also predict that the company’s net sales for Q3 will have shrunk to EUR 6.9 billion, which translates to a more than 20% decline year-on-year.
      Nokia will either confirm or confound the experts when it announces its third quarter result on Thursday.
      
The company’s losses are said to stem from continued problems with sales of smartphones as well as low-end handsets.
      Nokia has not succeeded in its attempt to break more widely into the lucrative smartphone market with its Windows Phone range.
      Among low- and mid-priced handsets, what causes problems for the Finnish company are especially the Chinese manufacturers and their aggressive pricing tactics.
      The analysts opine that the company’s mobile phone unit’s operating losses in Q3/2012 will be in the region of EUR 316 million.
      To counterbalance this, the company’s telecommunications services arm Nokia Siemens Networks is predicted to come up with a positive result to the tune of EUR 44.5 million.
      The location data services unit is also predicted to produce a more or less equally profitable result.
      
Apart from the falling handset sales, another cause for worry for Nokia is the company’s diminishing cash reserves.
      According to Reuters, “its cash position is forecast to fall to 3.4 billion euros at the end of the third quarter from 4.2 billion three months earlier”.
      Many market analysts feel that the crunch time for Nokia - whether the company can pull itself out of the current malaise - will depend greatly on new Windows 8 smartphones such as the Lumia 920.
      These handsets will be presented to the public next month in readiness for the holiday season, when people get down to the serious business of shopping and buying gifts for Christmas.
      An upturn in the company's fortunes is long overdue. 

(source: Helsingin Sanomat)

FinnBuild 2012 (Tips from the market - Finland)

Reporting from FinnBuild 2012 (Helsinki)


Since industry and building sectors will demand CE marking compulsorily from April 2013, Cuevas Consulting believes today´s strategy requires a strong advertising campaign on CE stamped products.

This strategy allow producers to open several niches in the sectors obligated to replace suppliers from Far East.

Fairs to be visited during the following months

Cuevas Consulting is attending the following fairs:

October:
Finnbuild 2012 (Construction)
http://web.finnexpo.fi/Sites1/FinnBuild/en/Pages/default.aspx

November:
ELMIA Subcontractor 2012 (Industry)
www.elmia.se/en/subcontractor/

Fair reports are available from our website:
www.cuevasconsulting.fi

or in our Blog:
http://cuevasconsulting.blogspot.fi/

Don´t hesitate on contacting us for taylormade reports... 

List of fairs in Helsinki (end of 2012)

Helsinki is getting ready for the upcoming fairs, here you have a list of them. Please do not hesitate on asking us how Cuevas Consulting can help you out to meet businesses in these events. Here you can search them by chronologically order:

Tekniikka

Date: 10-OCT-12 to 12-OCT-12

Tekniikka exhibition is the most important event of the year for the automation and production technology offering visions, the best tools and the best doers of the industry. The exhibitors were pleased to receive almost 13000 high-quality visitors, and as many as 94% of the exhibition guests expressed their intention to recommend the exhibition to their colleagues.

Venue: Jyvaskyla Congress Centre, Jyvaskyla, Western Finland,Finland

------

Helsinki Fashion Fair

19-OCT-12 to 21-OCT-12

Helsinki Fashion Fair is an International event that promotes the Textile Industry, Garments, Accessories, Handbags, Shoes & Jewellery to the World. At Helsinki international Fashion Fair high volume buyers, individual from boutiques and boutique chains or high end products buyers will find manufacturers or suppliers who can cater to their needs.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Health Fair-Helsinki

19-OCT-12 to 21-OCT-12

Health Fair-Helsinki is the largest well-being event open for public in Nordic countries. The event is celebrating its 11th anniversary. Number of visitors has increased each year. Our visitors are interested in both physical and mental well-being.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Beauty Fair

19-OCT-12 to 21-OCT-12

Beauty Fair-Finland brought the world of beauty to Finland's heartland. This city of remarkable style was the perfect backdrop for the event, which drew record attendance, highlighted styles from around the world and celebrated educators of global influence.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Gold Silver & Watch

19-OCT-12 to 21-OCT-12

Gold Silver & Watch is the First consumer event in the Nordic countries for jewelery and watches. The exhibition provides a opportunity to meet all the professional form jewelery and Watch industry under one roof. The event will be held between 19 to 21 Oct 2012 at The Finnish Fair Corporation.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

GSW Pro

20-OCT-12 to 21-OCT-12

GSW Pro is the one of the leading exhibition for Watches and jewelery industry in Helsinki. This is a perfect platform for jewelery buyers and sellers. The is is the most comprehensive event which attract huge visitor form different country. The exhibition is being organized by The Finnish Fair Corporation.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Helsinki Book Fair

25-OCT-12 to 28-OCT-12

Helsinki Book Fair is a highly popular trade show event, dedicated to the books and paper industry. The fair serves as the ideal meeting place for a large number of book-readers, and a host of publishers, booksellers, and magazine publishing houses are also present at the show. The comics and cartoon industry also has representatives to this book fair. Literary experiences are seamlessly shared among those attending the show, and visitors get the chance to grow familiar with new reading material as well. The event, organized by Suomen Messut, has a wide array of different items on exhibit, ranging from books for children, science texts and travel books, right to digital audiobooks, disks, magazines and religious books, like the Holy Koran. Calendars and stylish greeting cards are also displayed at the fair.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Skiexpo Finland

02-NOV-12 to 04-NOV-12

Skiexpo Finland ranks as the biggest winter sports trade events in the entire country.The show,which is held at Helsinki,provides a common business platform for exhibiting professionals to help the show attendees to get acquainted with the latest winter sports equipments and accessories,including skiing products,and sports apparels.The show also encourages the launch of new and innovative winter sports products.The Cloakroom Service are and the Children's place are two of the major noteworthy areas at the event,and the visitors can come across sports cycles,helmets and other protective gears,sunglasses and toy-vending instruments,that are put on exhibit here.Attendees are offered the chance to express their opinions regarding the utility of the exhibited items directly too.The show is held on an annual basis,at the Helsinki Fair Centre.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Digi Expo

02-NOV-12 to 04-NOV-12

Digi Expo will provide a very best platform for consumer electronics companies to gain global exposure for their new products, new technologies, brand and vision. This is one of the biggest trade show for related industry in China which will be taking place between 02-04 Nov. 2012.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Helsinski Forest Fair

09-NOV-12 to 11-NOV-12

Helsinki Forest Fair will be organized at Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Center on November 09th to 11th 2012. Approximately more than 20 exhibitors will be participating in this fair. This fair is not only for the professionals but also for the visitors who are nature lovers. The visitors will get an opportunity to get information about the forest and nature. In this fair the exhibitors give presentations, seminars, and demonstrations to the visitors. Helinsiki Forest Fair will also be the big platform for the visitors as they will get information on new products and services, new perspective and interesting facts.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Pharmacy Days

23-NOV-12 to 25-NOV-12

Pharmacy Days is the largest national continuing education event in the pharmaceutical sector. The programme is addressed to professionals from various related fields: pharmacy personnel, hospital pharmacists, medical industry, authorities, commerce and academia.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

------

Studia

04-DEC-12 to 05-DEC-12

Studia is one of the largest education fairs in Helsinki. The fair will provide the vital information on suitable programs and institution of higher learning to further their education. The exhibition will be held between 04 to 05 December 2012 at Helsinki Fair Centre. The event is being organized by The Finnish Fair Corporation.

Venue: Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki,Finland

Source: www.biztradeshows.com

Outlook for the economy remains fairly subdued

According to the Business Tendency Survey conducted by EK in April, Finnish business growth stabilised in the early part of the year following the increase in uncertainty last autumn. The current business situation is described as somewhat weaker than average in all the main sectors.

The business outlook for the coming months is cautious in all the main sectors but has improved from the January level. No substantial changes in the general economic conditions are expected in the next six months. 

Output and sales projections for the coming months predict very slow growth at best. Gradual acceleration of growth is expected to take place in late summer and autumn in manufacturing and services. However, employment expectations are very low, and the labour force is expected to decline in all but the service sectors. 

In April, the business outlook balance indicator for manufacturing was +9, up from -6 in January. In all, 18% of respondents expected an upturn during the summer and early autumn, while 9% felt that the economy would deteriorate during this period. 

The business outlook for construction improved to -5 in April from -32 in January. A total of 11% of companies anticipated an upturn, while 16% believed that the situation would deteriorate.

The business outlook for services improved to +2 in April from -8 in January. An upturn was forecast by 11% of respondents, while a decline was expected by just 9%.  

Output scarcely grew at all – expectations until late summer cautious
New orders received by manufacturing companies that responded to the survey remained at the same level during the first quarter as at the end of last year. In construction, the number of orders declined slightly compared with the end of 2011. In both manufacturing and construction, order books were reported to be slightly below average.  

Finished goods inventories decreased in manufacturing to normal levels. The volume of unsold dwellings owned by construction companies rose from low to average. 

Manufacturing companies that responded to the survey expect the number of new orders they receive during the second quarter to remain stable. In construction, however, the volume of orders is expected to continue to decline slightly. 

In manufacturing, output growth was rather slow at the beginning of the year, but slightly better than the low expectations of the previous survey. Output is expected to remain on the rise in the coming months, though the rate is expected to be sluggish. There are expectations of a tentative acceleration in growth in late summer and autumn. Construction output began to decline slightly in the early part of the year, and is anticipated to remain steady in the coming months. 

In services, sales were up moderately in the early months of 2012, as at the end of 2011. The rate was slightly quicker than forecast three months ago. Nevertheless, growth is predicted to remain slow in the coming months, but growth expectations for late summer are slightly better, as is the case for manufacturing. 

For manufacturing companies, the capacity utilisation rate recovered slightly from a dip in the autumn, but is still quite clearly below the long-term average. In April, 35% of manufacturing companies had unused capacity (43% in January). 

Employment expectations rather cautious – total labour force to decline
In the service sectors, the labour force growth almost stopped during the early part of the year. In construction, the total number of employees stayed the same, and in manufacturing it decreased slightly. Nevertheless, the employment trend as a whole was marginally better than forecast three months ago. 

Employment growth expectations are quite cautious. In both manufacturing and construction, the labour force is projected to decline slightly during the late spring and summer, and only service companies expect their labour force to remain steady. 

General picture lacklustre – but some companies suffering from labour shortages
Sales prices started to rise gradually in the manufacturing sector, and in services the rate of increase accelerated. In construction, sales prices remained unchanged. Costs rose quite strongly in all three main sectors. 

In the coming months, the rise in prices is forecast to slacken off in services. Prices are expected to rise slightly in manufacturing and construction. Cost pressures are expected to continue to be common despite an expected slowdown in the pace of cost increases in both manufacturing and services.

Profitability remained almost unchanged in all the main sectors during the early part of the year, and it is not expected to change substantially in the near future. 

In the construction and service sectors there are quite a number of companies experiencing insufficient demand and labour shortages, which is a reflection of the incoherence in the economy. In manufacturing, weak demand was clearly the most common factor holding back business activity. Over one third of manufacturing and construction companies reported weak demand, and in the service sectors the corresponding figure was one in five companies. A labour shortage was experienced by 7% of respondents in manufacturing, 15% in services and as much as 39% in construction. 

EK Business Tendency Survey
The Business Tendency Survey is published four times a year by the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK. The survey has been carried out regularly since 1966. 987 companies employing approximately 260,000 people in Finland responded to the April 2012 survey.

Finland maintains Moody’s top credit rating

Finland has a strong fiscal position and its rating is not expected to come under pressure, according to Moody’s.

Finland has maintained its excellent Aaa sovereign debt rating by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s has reduced the ratings of six European countries and worsened its forecast for three others to reflect their susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis.


According to Moody’s report, Finland’s rating is “appropriately positioned”. Finland is also named among the countries with the strongest fiscal position, whose ratings are not currently expected to come under pressure.



Source: Moody’s

Figures on Finnish District Heating - 2011

Energy year 2011 DISTRICT HEATING

23.01.2012

You also can download from here a resume of the electricity consumption in Finland (same period) for free

FINNISH ENERGY INDUSTRIES
Press release 
For publication 19.01.2012 10 am

Energy year 2011 DISTRICT HEATING:
Use of renewable energy sources in district heat production exceeded 20 per cent for the first time

Finnish Energy Industries’ figures show that district heat sales fell last year by more than ten per cent on the year before. Consumption was down due to the milder weather than in the previous year. Adjusted for temperature, district heat consumption grew by more than four per cent. District heat sales over the year totalled 30.1 billion kilowatt hours (TWh), with a monetary value of EUR 1.93 billion.

Residential properties accounted for 55 per cent of district heat sales. At the end of the year, there were almost 1.3 million residential properties with district heating, with almost 2.7 million people living in buildings with district heating.

Most public buildings are connected to district heating networks. Almost half of the heating energy requirement for all our buildings comes from district heating. In the largest cities, more than 90 per cent of the heating energy requirement of the buildings is covered by district heating. 

Volume of combined heat and power generation increased

Last year, the volume of district heat produced was 33.4 TWh. This is 13 per cent less than the year before, due to warmer weather conditions. Of the district heating, 74 per cent was produced in cogeneration with electricity, the share growing by 3 percentage points from the year before. Separate production of heat only covered 26 per cent of the production.

The volume of CHP electricity was 14.9 TWh. In combined heat and power generation, a third of the fuel quantity is saved compared to when they are produced separately. The emissions are reduced proportionally.

Carbon emissions down

Carbon dioxide emissions from district heat generation were 6.6 million tonnes, decreasing on the previous year by over 18 per cent. Most of the fall was due to lower production volumes than in the previous year, but also a result of increased use of renewable fuels. The average emission was 197 g per each kilowatt hour generated. The specific emission fell by almost six per cent.

Natural gas still most important fuel, use of wood up

Natural gas was used to generate 34 per cent of district heat and CHP electricity. Its share was down by just over one percentage point from the year before. The share of coal was 23 per cent. Its use fell by seven per cent, but the share rose by 1.5 percentage points. The share of peat increased by 1.5 per cent to 18 per cent. The use of wood, wood residue and other domestic renewable energy sources, such as biogas and secondary heat from industry, increased, and their share rose to 22 per cent. A good three per cent of district heating was produced from oil.

Mean price of district heat rose

The mean price of district heat inclusive of tax, including the energy fee and power charge, was 6.39 cents per kilowatt hour. The mean price rose by almost 17 per cent on the previous year. The price increase was particularly due to the rises in energy taxes at the start of 2011.  Fuel prices exclusive of tax also rose during the year.

Taxes make up almost 30 per cent of the price of district heat. Generally, the principal factor influencing the price level is the size of the district heating system. In large conurbations, district heating is cogenerated economically with electricity. Other factors contributing to the price level of district heating include the fuels used, age of the plant, structure of the conurbation, efficiency of investments, and the owner’s requirements with regard to returns.

Reliability of district heat supply excellent

A district heat customer is likely to have his heating supply disrupted for 1.7 hours a year on average. The reliability of district heat supply is 99.98 per cent. The outages are caused by system breakdowns and repairing them. The work of connecting new clients to the network and moving pipelines in conjunction with roadworks may also cause supply interruptions. Most of the interruptions are planned, i.e. the clients are notified in advance. 

Reliability of supply is excellent in Finland, even during spells of hardest frosts. Heating outages caused by faults in technical equipment usually affect a very limited number of customers, and they are brief. The high security of supply is the result of systematic quality control, upkeep and preventive maintenance.

The district heating production capacity is about 22,000 megawatts (MW). The maximum output requirement of clients connected to the district heating networks is about 18,100 MW.

Open Energy Year 2011 - DISTRIC HEATING ppt slides

Additional information:
Mirja Tiitinen, Adviser, Tel. 050 434 6994
Jari Kostama, Director, Tel. 050 301 1870

You also can download from here a resume of the electricity consumption in Finland (same period) for free