• General State of the Economy
• Energy Resources
• Energy Balance
• Energy Infrastructure
• Education and Innovation
• Ecology and Environment Protection
• References

Between 1993 and 2008 the country experienced sustained GDP growth in purchasing power parity, both in general and per capita, followed by a decrease and economic volatility [4,5]. GDP at purchasing power parity increased from $238.6 billion in 2015 to $261.3 billion (59^th place in the world) in 2020 [3]. The country’s GDP at purchasing power parity per capita is high (32^nd place in the world in 2020), which has also been demonstrating positive dynamics: from $43,600 in 2015 to $47,300 in 2020 [3].
The level of inflation changed from 0.8% in 2017 to 1% in 2019, in terms of this indicator the country was 64^th in the world (ranked by levels of inflation, low to high) [3]. According to The Global Competitiveness Report 2019, presented by the World Economic Forum, Finland ranked 11^th (out of an estimated total of 141 countries), behind Switzerland, Sweden, and other, larger countries – the USA, Japan and Germany. This rating reflects the effectiveness of the use of the country’s own resources for sustainable development. In addition to a number of economic indicators this index also takes into account such variables as education, health, level of innovation, etc. In the list of countries that exported high-tech products in 2019-2020, Finland was 36^th, slightly ahead of Norway. According to the Index of Economic Freedom 2021, which is based on freedom of business, freedom from government action, property protection, and freedom from corruption, the country was considered “mostly free”: 17^th, out of 178 countries. In terms of gold reserves and foreign exchange reserves Finland was 73^rd in the world. According to the indicator for the average GDP growth in % over the last 10 years, in 2020 the country was 169^th out of 206 countries considered. In terms of public debt, calculated as a percentage of the country's GDP, Finland in 2017 was ranked 73^rd out of 210 countries.
Despite the country's high level of GDP per capita, the latter two indices partly reflect a number of negative trends in the Finnish economy related to demographic problems, a contraction in the volume of business of a leading Finnish company, Nokia, as well as a reduction in the turnover of some important industries, particularly those based on deep wood processing.

Finland has practically no reserves of fossil resources, but due to its geographic location, it has various reserves of renewable energy sources. A selection of basic indicators of this type of resource is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Renewable energy resources of Finland  

* for the majority of the territory of the country

The economically exploitable hydropower capability in Finland is 16 026 GWh/year. For comparison, this is about 3.5 times less than the economically accessible hydro potential of Austria, 3 times less than Italy and slightly less than in neighbouring Sweden [6]. According to experts, the potential of Finland's geothermal energy ranges between 15-69 mW/m² [7]. The most favourable conditions for the implementation of heat pump technology to exploit this geothermal potential are found in the southern regions of Finland, in particular in Uisimaa [8]. The level of global horizontal radiation does not exceed 2.7 kWh/m²/day, and in the south of the country, along the Gulf of Finland, it can reach its maximum of 2.7-3.0 kWh/m²/day [9]. These are insufficient resources for the mass development of solar energy in the country. The distribution of wind resources is as follows: for the majority of the country the wind speed is 6.5-7.5m/s, while in the southwest of the country it can exceed 7.5 m/s at the height of 50 m [10]. This offers promising potential for the future development of wind energy in Finland, which would allow wind energy to compete with Finland’s established renewable technologies - bio and hydropower. According to data from 2020, 7.5% of the territory of the country is occupied by agricultural land, the area of which has been slightly decreasing during the last half-century [11] There has been a slight increase in forest area to 73.7% [12].
According to Eurostat, Finland's municipal waste generation was 596 kg per capita in 2020; ahead of, for example, Sweden - (431 kg per person), but behind Norway - (726 kg per person) [13]. This resource is a valuable raw material for recycling or energy production, the technologies of which have reached a high level of development in Finland.

In 2021 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country produced 69.62 TWh of electricity, where nuclear power accounted for 32.5%, hydropower – 22.7%, renewables – 31.1%, and fossil fuels – 13.7% (Fig. 6). Finland’s position in the comparative diagram of energy index is shown in Fig. 4.
Finland does not appear in the first three indices due to the absence of significant reserves of fossil energy sources, and, for the same reason, it is in the lower half of the chart for such indicators as the ratio of their production and consumption.

In another rating from 2017 listing countries by their production of electricity from renewable sources (excluding hydropower), Finland placed 29^th out of 170 countries selected for consideration, which notable for such a sparsely populated country. In 2020 Finland was 37^th out of 66 countries ranked by the ratio of GDP per unit of energy use. The energy consumption per capita is much higher –16^th in the world, slightly ahead of  Netherlands and behind Norway among EU countries.
In terms of electricity consumption per capita, the country is fourth in the world, second only to Iceland and Norway in the region. However, for the indicator of combined electricity production-consumption, Finland is at the penultimate place in the ranked list of 216 countries. The volume of electricity imports in 2020 was 21.61 billion kWh (exporting 6.666 billion kWh), according to preliminary estimates from [3], significantly ahead of EU countries such as Sweden or Belgium, that also have limited fossil fuel resources, but are more populated.

A territorial map showing the distribution of the largest infrastructure projects of the fossil fuel sector and electricity in Finland is shown in Figure 5.
In order to meet domestic demand Finland has to rely on energy imports, due to the lack of reserves of fossil energy resources. As mentioned above, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration, primary energy production in Finland accounts for 48.57% of total energy consumption in 2021 (Fig. 5).
Oil refining in Finland is conducted at two refineries, the largest – Porvoo, Nestle Oil – has an installed capacity of 206,000 bbl/day [17] (Fig. 5). Oil and petroleum products are imported via six oil terminals, there are also six large oil storage facilities in the country.  Porvoo Oil Storage is one of the largest, with a storage capacity of 8.0 mln m³ [18].

                                         Figure 5. Basic Infrastructure facilities of the fossil fuel Sector and Electricity in Finland

The country has a significant number of stations for the production of electricity from hydrocarbons, including, including four gas, four combined-type, three coal-fired, three oil and two nuclear power plants (Fig. 5). The largest power plants in the country are: Vuosaari gas power plant with a capacity of 630 MW [19]; Suomenoja combined-typepower plant with a capacity of 350 MW; Meri-Pori coal power plant with a capacity of 565 MW; the complex of nuclear power plants -Olkiluoto 1-2, with an installed capacity of 1760 MW; and Forssa oil power plant, with a capacity of 318 MW [20,21,22,23]. The main hydroelectric power plant is Imatra, with an installed capacity of 192 MW [24].
Figure 6 shows the main infrastructure facilities in Finland for the production of renewable energy.

                                        Figure 6. Renewable Energy in Finland

As noted above, renewable energy (excluding hydroenergy) accounted for 19.73 TWh in 2020 (Fig. 6).
In zones of high wind activity there are 13 large wind farms, each with a capacity of more than 40 MW. In 2016 there were about 225 wind farms with a total installed capacity of 2113 MW in Finland [25], the largest is Metsälä Wind Park, with an installed capacity of 117.3 MW [26].
As mentioned earlier, the level of direct solar radiation in some areas of the country can reach 3 kWh/m2 [9]. As a result, a small Eco-Viikki solar district heating plant was installed around the area of the capital, generating about 1 MW/hour of thermal energy [27].
The share of bioenergy in the production of electricity by renewable sources is 32.5% (Figure 6). Finland is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the development of bioenergy technologies. This is based on the presence of rich forest resources (more than 73% of the country's territory is covered by forests) and strong traditions in the field of wood processing. There are biogas enterprises, as well as enterprises processing municipal garbage, landfill gas, bio-diesel, bioethanol, and pellets (Fig. 6). Finland's large enterprises for the production of second-generation biodiesel and bioethanol are: Porvoo, Neste Oil with an installed capacity of 380,000 tons/year; and Hamina with a capacity of 70,000 tons/year [28.29]. The largest biogas plant in the country is Hämeenlinna, St1 Renewable Energy Industrial Biogas Plant which is capable of producing about 2,100,000 m³ per year [30].
Other notable enterprises include: Joensuu, Fortum Demo BTL-FT Plant that produces 50,000 tons/year of liquid hydrocarbons [31]; Vilppula, Vapo Wood Pellet Plant, that produces 100,000 tons of pellets annually [32]; Alholmens, Jakobstad, is home to the second largest in the world biomass power plant and Alholmens Kraft Pietersaari bioenergy plant with an installed capacity of 265 MW [33]. The city of Lahti houses the Kymijärvi I-II Biomass power plant, which with a capacity of 160 MW, is the fourth most powerful in the world. It features an atmospheric gasifier using plastic, paper, cardboard and wood as raw materials [33]. The country also has enterprises that use advanced fast pyrolysis technology. The most prominent are Joensuu and Fortum, with an installed capacity of 6313 kg/h [36], and the Mikkeli, Biosaimaa Torrefaction Plant, which can produce about 10,000 tons of pellets annually [37]. The leader in the generation of electricity from municipal waste is Helsinki-Vantaa, with a capacity of 320,000 tons/year [34]. Ämmässuo, Espoo generates about 15 Mwe of electricity from landfill gas [35]. It should be noted that in recent years Finland has consistently been among the top ten countries in the world in terms of electricity production from municipal waste per capita.
Finland is actively developing hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles. As of August 2018, there were 2 hydrogen filling stations in operation in the country (Fig. 6). There are also several plants producing hydrogen, the largest being Raisio, Linde Compressed Hydrogen Plant, with an installed capacity of 708 Nm³/hour [38].

According to the number of patents granted to Finnish nationals, both domestically and abroad, the country ranks 15^th in the world, behind a number of European countries, but higher than the world average. It should be noted that this ranking compares absolute values, and all countries from this rank that are ahead of Finland have a larger number of inhabitants, and most of them are many times larger. Similarly, by the number of patents in force, the country is above the world average - 29^th place, indicating the country's favourable conditions for innovation. In terms of government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, the country ranks highly - 18^th out of 177 countries selected for consideration, which has contributed to 9 Finnish universities entering the QS University Rating. Finland is very well positioned when considering the number of publications of specialists in scientific and technological journal and patent activities. The country placed 26^th out of 240 participating countries in the Scimago ranking, and in Scientific and Journal Activities it is ranked 38^th out of 197 countries. The country is also among the leaders in the region in terms of the number of Internet users and 6^th in terms of public expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP.
Finnish universities, such as the University of Helsinki, The Arctic Aalto University, and the University of Oulu train specialists in various fields of energy, including Geology, Mining Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Electrical Engineering, etc. In the field of synthetic fuel production, leaders in patenting are Neste Oyj, UPM-Kymmene Oyj. Research and development in this field is carried out by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University. In the field of unconventional oil, Outokumpu Oyj, Metsa Specialty Chemicals Oy and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland should be mentioned. Aalto University and Kemira are actively engaged in research in this field. Aalto University and the Geological Survey of Finland conduct research in the field of gas hydrates. Another important patenting area is coalbed methane, here the leaders in patenting among Finnish companies are Wärtsilä Finland Oy, CP KELCO OY. Wärtsilä Finland Oy is a leading patent holder in the field of utilization of coalmine methane and associated petroleum gas.
In the field of hydrocarbon production from reservoirs with low permeability - Kemira, UPM-Kymmene Oyj, CP KELCO OY. The leading patent holders in the field of bioenergy are Neste Oyj, UPM-Kymmene Oyj, Metso Power Oy, and the following research agencies are actively engaged in research: Aalto University, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
A large number of companies patent technical solutions in the field of energy production from renewable sources. In the field of solar energy - Upstream Engineering Oy, Suinno Solar Oy. Leading research organizations in this field is VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Moventas Gears Oy, Ahlstrom Corporation, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) are all to the fore in the number of patents in the field of wind power.

In terms of forest area as a percentage of the country, Finland was 12^th in 2020 out of 234 countries. The trend associated with forest area change from 2010-2020 looks positive and according to this indicator the country is 17^th in the world.
The country is very well positioned in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020, which focuses primarily on the environmental activities of national governments, aimed at reducing the negative impact of the environment, and rational use of natural resources. In this ranking Finland is 7^th out of 180 participating countries, behind a number of European countries, including Austria and Switzerland. However, according to the Environmental Vulnerability Index, which is based on years of observations and 50 indicators that include, for example, changing climatic characteristics or the quality of water resources, waste volumes, oil spills and other hazardous substances, etc. Finland is 57^th out of 234 countries, and is characterized as “vulnerable". Finally, it is worth mentioning that according to the Ecological Footprint Atlas rating, Finland is among a number of ecological debtors.

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[3] Finland / The world factbook / Library / Central Intelligence Agency / www.cia.gov
[4] GDP, PPP (constant 2011 international $) / World Bank, International Comparison Program database. License: CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[5] GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)/ World Bank, International Comparison Program database. License : CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[6] World Energy Resources: Hydro World Energy Council / 2013 / Publications / World Energy Council / www.worldenergy.org/
[7]Geothermal Energy in Finland / May 28-June 10, 2000 / Ilmo T. Kukkonen/ World Geothermal Congress / Kyushu – Tohoku, Japan / Geological Survey of Finland / International Geothermal Association / www.geothermal-energy.org
[8] Mapping The Potential Of Renewable Energy In Finland (PDF) / Nidal Abu Shanab / Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences / Theseus.fi / www.theseus.fi
[9] Solar resource data obtained from the Global Solar Atlas, owned by the World Bank Group and provided by Solargis / Global Solar Athlas / globalsolaratlas.info
[10] Finland Wind Map / Global Wind Atlas 2.0, a free, web-based application developed, owned and operated by the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in partnership with the World Bank Group, utilizing data provided by Vortex, with funding provided by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). For additional information: globalwindatlas.info
[11] Agricultural land (% of land area) /Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. License : CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[12] Forest area (% of land area) /Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site. License : CC BY-4.0 / Data / The World Bank / www.worldbank.org
[13] Municipal waste statistics Updated / 19 July 2021 / Full list / Statistics Explained / Eurostat / ec.europa.eu
[14] BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018 - 2022 (PDF)/ BP / www.bp.com
[15] International Energy Statistic/Geography/U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2022) www.eia.gov/beta/international/
[16] Finland / Statistics / © OECD / IEA 2018, IEA Publishing, Licence: www.iea.org/t&c / International Energy Agency / www.iea.org
[17] Finland / List of oil refineries / Wikipedia / en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_refineries
[18] Porvoo plants - among the most advanced in Europe / Who we are / Neste / www.neste.com
[19] Vuosaari Power Plants / Power Plants / Energy Production / HELEN / www.helen.fi
[20] Suomenoja CHP plant / Our Power Plants / Fortum / www.fortum.com
[21] Meri-Pori power plant / Our Power Plants / Fortum / www.fortum.com
[22] Nuclear Power in Finland / Country Profiles / Information Library / World Nuclear Association / www.world-nuclear.org
[23] Fingrid’s new reserve power plant inaugurated in Forssa / March 25, 2013 / News / Fingrid / www.fingrid.fi
[24] Vuoksi river system / Our Power Plants / Fortum / www.fortum.com
[25] Finland / Country Profiles / The Wind Power / www.thewindpower.net
[26] EPV Wind’s projects made good progress / Annual Reports / EVP / ar2016.epv.fi
[27] Finland / Plant database / Knowledge center / Solar District Heating / solar-district-heating.eu
[28] Market of biomass fuels in Finland – an overview 2013 (PDF) / Antti Karhunen, Tapio Ranta, Jussi Heinimö, Eija Alakangas / Lappeenranta University of TechnologyFaculty of Technology, LUT EnergyLUT Scientific and Expertise PublicationsRaportit ja selvitykset – Reports 43 Country reports / Publications / IEA Bioenergy Task 40 / task40.ieabioenergy.com
[29] Liste des principales unités de productionde biocarburants avancés en Europe (PDF) / Frédéric DUPONT / Juin 2013 / Val Biom / www.valbiom.be
[30] Biogas plants / About gas / Gasum / www.gasum.com
[31] Finland / Database / IEA Bioenergy Task 39: Commercializing Liquid Biofuels from Biomass / demoplants.bioenergy2020.eu
[32] The wood pellet business in Finland / June 2015 /Proskurina, Svetlana & Heinimö, Jussi & Mikkilä, Mirja & Vakkilainen, Esa. (2015). /Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland;Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd, Mikkei, Finland / Conference: 23^rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, At Austria, Vienna/ Research Gate / www.researchgate.net
[33] Power from waste – the world’s biggest biomass power plants / April 1, 2014 / Power Technology / www.power-technology.com
[34] Helsinki - Vantaa Incineration Plant / Finland / Waste-to-energy Plants / Energy/ Industry About / www.industryabout.com
[35] Ämmässuo Landfill, Finland / References / Gas Applications / MWM / www.mwm.net
[36] Finland / Pyrolysis Demoplant Database / Publications / IEA Bioenergy Task 34: Direct Thermochemical Liquefaction / www.pyne.co.uk
[37] Evaluation of a pilot-scale wood torrefcaction plant based on pellet properties and Finnish market economics (PDF) / Tapio Ranta, Jarno Föhr, Hanne Soininen / Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lönnrotinkatu 7 50100, Mikkeli, Finland, Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, Patteristonkatu 3 D, 50100 Mikkeli, Finland / Volume 7, Issue 2, 2016 pp.159-168 / International Journal Of Energy And Environment / www.ijee.ieefoundation.org
[38] Merchant Hydrogen Production Capacities in Europe /Hydrogen Production /Hyarc / Hydrogen Tools / h2tools.org

The sources of charts and curves are specified under the images.

For more information about the energy industry in Finland see here