A 20 MW solar project in Finland backed by the EU’s cross-border renewable energy program is now operational.

According to the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), the Loukkaanaro solar park is the first commissioning of a project supported by the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM). The mechanism allows renewable energy projects to be developed via collaboration between contributing and hosting EU member states.

The Loukkaanaro solar park was selected as part of the first RENEWFM tender, alongside six other solar projects in Finland, with funding provided from Luxembourg.

The site was the first to sign a grant agreement with CINEA, receiving €2.35 million ($2.7 million) in investment support compared to total project costs of around €10 million. Construction began in May 2024, with the park completed by the end of 2025.

The project is managed by Oulun Seudun Sähkö, a regional energy cooperative serving the area around the Finnish city of Oulu. Its chief financial officer, Juhani Rönkkö, told pv magazine the EU’s cross-border financing mechanism was crucial to the project.

“A local bank financed a major part of the project and we used our savings and other sources of income for the rest of the financial requirements,” Rönkkö said.

Located in the municipality of Utajärvi within Finland's northern Ostrobothnia region, the project has been billed as the largest in northern Finland. It features around 30,000 solar panels and is expected to produce around 4% of the region’s annual electricity consumption. Rönkkö added that the energy generated will be mainly used for households, with the commercial and industrial sector contributing to a minor part of the usage.

“On-site construction phase took around 1.5 years,” Rönkkö also said. “We faced some technical challenges when the solar park was integrated into the transmission grid, but they were solved without major delays.”

A statement published by CINEA explains that the project is an important step in demonstrating the viability of large-scale solar generation in northern climatic conditions. “The effects of snow and cold temperatures will be closely monitored, providing valuable operational data for the development of future renewable energy projects in similar environments,” the agency said.

CINEA added that the remaining 15 projects awarded under the first and second rounds of the cross-border financing mechanism are expected to be commissioned between this year and 2028.

A third funding round launched this March, with a share of €54.9 million available to solar-plus-storage projects in Bulgaria and ground-mounted solar projects in Finland, with funding again provided by Luxembourg. The deadline for applications is September 1.

Finland added 227 MW of utility-scale solar last year, a record in a calendar year for the country. Analysis from Renewables Finland forecasts utility-scale installations in Finland could surpass rooftop in terms of cumulative capacity by 2028.

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