Atria’s solar power park expansion almost doubles the current panel capacity – the new investment in Nurmo to be commissioned this year

Atria Finland, with Solarigo Systems Oy, will expand its solar power plant at its production facilities in Nurmo. The panel capacity of the current power plant, commissioned in 2018, will almost double. It will produce about 4,250 MWh of solar power per year, which corresponds to the annual consumption of about 2,100 studio apartments. The panel installation started at the beginning of August, and the expansion will be ready for use during 2022.

“The use of renewable zero-emission solar energy leads us towards our key goal: Atria’s carbon-neutral food chain. We’ve had nothing but positive experiences in solar energy, and this project almost doubles the current solar power plant’s capacity. Nurmon Aurinko Oy, the project’s contractor, has received a 20 per cent energy subsidy from Business Finland. The total value of the project is approximately EUR 2.7 million,” says Eero Yliselä, Vice President of Technical Functions at Atria.

“The solar power plant expansion is a significant project in Finland’s solar power sector as a whole. The current power plant is the largest in Finland, and the expansion is one of the largest solar power plants under construction. The power plant uses bifacial panels as a new technology, which also produces energy from diffuse radiation reflected to the back of the panels. This improves the power plant’s efficiency rate and increases the annual energy output, compared with conventional technologies,” says Juho Lasonen, Project Manager of Solarigo Systems Oy.

When the extension is completed, Atria will cover around eight per cent of its annual electricity consumption by solar power. The power plant expansion is located on the eastern side of Atria’s production facilities in Nurmo, in the immediate vicinity of the new poultry plant.

The solar power plant in Atria’s Nurmo production facilities is the largest of its kind in Finland. Commissioned in 2018, the solar power plant comprises around 22,000 ground- and roof-installed solar panels, whose actual output corresponds to annual electricity production of around 5,000 MWh. After the commissioning of the extension, Atria’s annual solar power output will be roughly 9,000 MWh. The project reduces total emissions even further and improves the production facilities’ energy efficiency, also increasing Atria’s energy self-sufficiency.

Atria is leading the way in the industrial implementation of solar power in Finland. Finnish food produced with lower emissions is a factor in the company’s environmental responsibility policy, which covers the entire food chain. Solar power is a sustainable choice, and it supports the controlled use of natural resources, while also creating more favourable conditions for the future.

For more information, please contact:

• Eero Yliselä, Vice President, technical functions, Atria Finland Ltd, tel. +358 40 652 9238
• Juho Lasonen, Project Manager, Solarigo Systems Oy, tel. +358 40 773 0705