What the heck is wrong with Finland? Why aren’t they listening to Mr. Gore? The guy knows what he’s talking about.
Posted on 05/28/2023 8:04:08 AM PDT by Cronos
Electricity prices in Finland plummeted into negative territory this week after the launch of a new nuclear power plant last month.
The development comes months after officials in the Nordic nation were raising the alarm over widespread energy shortages, a reality induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Energy producers are now discussing mechanisms to reduce production as power becomes so abundant that prices venture into negative territory.
“Production is high, consumption is low, and now we are in a situation where it is not easy to adjust production,” Fingrid CEO Jukka Ruusunen said in an interview with Yle News. “Last winter, the only thing people could talk about was where to get more electricity. Now we are thinking hard about how to limit production. We have gone from one extreme to another.”
Power company TVO launched a new reactor at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant last month; nearly one-third of the nation’s power now comes from the facility. The electricity from the plant is sufficient to power 5.2 million apartments or charge 3.6 million electric cars, marking a significant amount of power production for Finland, which has 5.5 million residents.
Average spot electricity prices in Finland declined from $264 in December to $65 in April, according to a report from the National News. Utility companies are unable to decrease energy output through hydropower, the typical domain in which electricity production can be reduced, because of excess snowmelts.
“Operators in Finland and the surrounding areas are now monitoring the situation. If hydropower can’t be regulated, then it will probably be nuclear power next. Production that is not profitable at these prices is usually removed from the market,” Ruusunen continued. “Now there is enough electricity, and it is almost emission-free. So you can feel good about using electricity.”
Finland and other nations in the European Union abide by the goal of becoming “a climate-neutral society” by 2050 in accordance with the European Green Deal and the Paris Climate Agreement. Despite the success of nuclear power in promoting emission-free electricity, many countries are shuttering the facilities over safety concerns: Germany closed the nation’s three remaining nuclear energy plants last month, marking an end to the economic bellwether’s use of the power source even as authorities resumed coal production due to energy shortages.
“The risks of nuclear power are ultimately uncontrollable; that’s why the nuclear phaseout makes our country safer, and avoids more nuclear waste,” German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, a member of the Green Party, said earlier this year, according to a report from German state-funded media outlet Deutsche Welle.
Other nations, such as the Netherlands and Poland, are slated to expand their nuclear systems, while Belgium is delaying a previously enacted phaseout. Some countries, on the other hand, proceeded with shutdowns of nuclear facilities despite catastrophic increases in energy prices last year: Switzerland slowed production at one nuclear power plant to avoid raising nearby river temperatures and thereby protect local fish populations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has meanwhile proposed mechanisms to reduce “overall electricity consumption,” an initiative funded by the redistribution of profits from oil and natural gas companies.
Sell the excess electricity.
I like the sound of negative power prices. Sure would be nice if I could get paid to run the A/C this time of year.
Imagine if the US brought 30 nuclear power plants online in the next 10 years...
What the heck is wrong with Finland? Why aren’t they listening to Mr. Gore? The guy knows what he’s talking about.
And we could do the same here. Just trim back the very arbitrary review standards, instituted mostly to “slow-walk” the approval and licensing procedures, now as much as 10 years, even as the demand is growing beyond all possible expansion of the electric power grid.
But “deregulation” is not part of the lexicon of the current regime now squatting in the White Hut.
The electricity from the plant is sufficient to power 5.2 million apartments or charge 3.6 million electric carsIt always used to be how many houses could be powered.
The problem is you have to power BOTH the houses and the EVs. The secondary distribution system (the power lines to the transformers on the poles) does not have enough capacity to power both your house and charge your EV at the same time. Well, there's enough capacity to charge three, maybe four EVs in your neighborhood at nighttime, but not more than that.
1. "END ICE Cars!!! Stop building them!! Go all-electric!!"
2. "Whoopsie. Please reduce your overall electricity consumption. We don't have enough power. Don't plug your car in. Leave it in your garage."
Don't these idiots ever think beyond "What's for lunch?"
Going forward it will be dirt cheap energy prices which will be one of the drivers of the next Industrial Revolution. Another will be at
I think Finland’s had a little help...
See the first entry on the list.
https://tradingeconomics.com/finland/imports/united-states
Can’t wait to see the stats for ‘23...
Not flying cars, but good enough.
Sell excess power to idiot Germans..
Recycling takes energy.
Anyone who is for recycling must be for inexpensive energy.
If nuke comes on line his stake in occidental oil becomes near worthless and his plans of running a carbon scheme becomes moot. I don’t know how much he and his conglomerate could have in invested in the the wind and solar chain.
1. He is a moron
2. Even if he weren’t a moron he doesn’t understand even the basics of energy.
I like the sound of negative power prices. Sure would be nice if I could get paid to run the A/C this time of year.
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Many years ago when I was young, single and shameless, I rented a duplex apartment for two years. Each of the apartments had its own electric meter. It only took me one month to figure out that my electric meter didn’t work.
Each month I got a bill from the electric company with the same meter reading and the basic charge of $3.50 per month.
I had air conditioning and ran that thing full blast each summer. The heat was gas and the gas meter did indeed work, so I quickly bought small electric space heaters for each room, including the small bathroom and turned off the gas furnace and had a very small gas bill.
I eventually got married and bought a home otherwise. I’d likely still be living there.
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