Solar energy is now being produced on the roof of every fourth Tokmanni store – Tokmanni installs its 50th solar power plant in Kerava
Tokmanni Press release 17 September 2021 at 9:15 a.m.
Tokmanni is seeking to have solar panels installed on the roofs of its new stores, among other locations. For example, the 320 solar panels on the roof of the Tokmanni store in Iitti, which opened in August, produce around 95 MWh of solar power per year for the store. This corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of around 47.5 small apartments.² Photo: Jarkko Honkanen, Solarigo Systems
Tokmanni is now producing emission-free solar energy in one in every four of its stores. Its 50th solar power plant will be installed in September in Kerava, where the local Tokmanni store will have 280 solar panels on its roof. There are around 24,000 solar panels in total on the roofs of Tokmanni stores. It is estimated that they will produce around 7% of Tokmanni’s annual electricity consumption this year.¹ In the coming years, Tokmanni aims to increase the share of in-house solar power to more than 10% of its electricity consumption.
Tokmanni's goal is to be carbon neutral in 2025 with regard to its own operations. To achieve this goal, Tokmanni is seeking to reduce its energy consumption and increase its use of renewable energy.
“Solar power plants that produce renewable energy play a significant part in achieving our emissions targets. This year, our solar power plants will produce around 7% of Tokmanni’s electricity consumption. Our goal is to increase the share of in-house solar power to more than 10% of Tokmanni’s electricity consumption over the next few years,” says Harri Koponen, Vice President, Store Network and Concept at Tokmanni.
Rapid pace of installation with substantial production figures
Tokmanni has had solar power plants installed at a rapid pace across Finland recently: 13 solar power plants last year and 12 this year. Its first solar power plant was installed in Jämsä in the autumn of 2016.
Today, its 50 solar power plants are producing around 6,000 MWh of renewable energy per year. In addition, all of the electricity purchased by Tokmanni is renewable.
“The solar power produced by Tokmanni’s current solar power plants translates into 30 million kilometres per year for an electric car. With the circumference of the Earth being 40,075 kilometres, this is nearly 750 times around the world. Alternatively, the annual electricity production would be enough for the electricity needs of around 3,000 small apartments,”² says Antti Koskelainen, CEO of Solarigo Systems, the company providing Tokmanni with solar power solutions.
There are now around 24,000 solar panels on the roofs of Tokmanni stores across Finland. Pictured here is the Tokmanni store in Kaarina, where 520 solar panels were installed in July 2021. Photo: Jarkko Honkanen, Solarigo Systems
Electricity for in-house needs
The share of solar power produced on the roofs of Tokmanni stores was 6.1% of the company’s total electricity consumption in 2020 and 2.2% in 2019.³ This year, its share is expected to increase to around 7%.
“Our stores are ideal for solar power production, because they mainly need electricity for lighting, ventilation and cooling, especially during the day – that is, when the generation of electricity is at its highest. The store environment is also favourable in terms of the use of space, because the roofs of large buildings often have a great deal of usable area,” Koponen points out.
The production potential of solar energy varies in accordance with the weather and the season. In Finland, a solar power plant typically produces renewable energy from March to October, an average of around 15–20% of the annual electricity need of a Tokmanni store. During the summer months, in-house solar power can cover more than 50% of the electricity need of a store.
“Recent examples of this include the Tokmanni stores in Uusikaupunki and Hämeenkyrö, where the solar power plants generated more than 60% of the electricity consumption of the stores in June 2021,” Koponen says.
A solar power plant usually consists of hundreds of solar panels
Tokmanni’s solar power plants usually have around 300 to 500 solar panels. For example, its newest solar power plant in Kerava has around 280 solar panels. The plant generates around 84.5 MWh of solar power per year, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of around 42 small apartments.²
The solar power plants are designed in accordance with the area available on the roof and the electricity consumption of the property.
“Our nationwide solar power plant network enables us to simulate the energy production of a solar power plant based on actual production data in the planning phase. The production estimate is compared with the electricity consumption of the property to determine the optimal capacity for the solar power plant,” says Antti Koskelainen, CEO of Solarigo Systems.
Investment in solar power is one of Tokmanni’s practical climate measures. Pictured here is the Tokmanni store in Inkeroinen, where a solar power plant consisting of 540 panels was commissioned in July 2021. Photo: Jarkko Honkanen, Solarigo Systems
Lower emissions through renewable solar power
Tokmanni is a global pioneer in adopting climate targets that are officially approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. With these targets, which are based on the Paris Agreement, Tokmanni will support the Business Ambition for 1.5 °C campaign and commit to do its part to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Last spring, Tokmanni received recognition for its climate work: according to the Financial Times, Tokmanni is the leading Finnish company in the retail sector in reducing emissions.
The majority of the emissions from Tokmanni’s own operations arise from heating its properties. According to Koponen, the company aims for practical and effective climate measures, and its emissions reductions related to renewable solar energy, for example, are monitored closely.
“It’s important that we make the right decisions in climate matters. At the annual level, our 50 solar power plants reduce our emissions by around 786 tCO₂,”⁴ he adds.
The positive results in producing renewable solar power, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and controlling energy costs prove that Tokmanni’s decision to invest strongly in renewable energy is appropriate and relevant.
“We aim to further expand not only our store network, but also our network of solar power plants. As far as possible, we are seeking to have solar power plants installed in all our new stores. In addition, we will only purchase renewable electricity for our existing and future stores,” Koponen explains.
Tokmanni’s solar power plants in brief:
Total number of solar power plants in September 2021: 50
Total number of solar panels in solar power plants in September 2021: around 24,000
Combined power of solar power plants in September 2021: around 7.2 MWp
Estimated total output in 2021: around 5.0 GWh (equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 2,500 small apartments or around 25 million kilometres driven by an electric car²)
Largest solar power plant: Tokmanni’s administration and logistics centre (3,000 solar panels, peak power of 825 kWp, estimated annual output of around 677 MWh)
The following Tokmanni locations already have a solar power plant:
Tokmanni Jämsä, commissioned in September 2016
Tokmanni Savonlinna, commissioned in August 2017
Tokmanni Kalajoki, commissioned in June 2018
Tokmanni’s administration and logistics centre, Mäntsälä, commissioned in August 2018
Tokmanni Kouvola Tornionmäki, commissioned in October 2018
Tokmanni Tampere Lielahti, car wash, commissioned in March 2019
Tokmanni Uusikaupunki, commissioned in June 2019
Tokmanni Masku, commissioned in June 2019
Tokmanni Turku Länsikeskus, car wash, commissioned in June 2019
Tokmanni Lieto, commissioned in July 2019
Tokmanni Nastola, commissioned in July 2019
Tokmanni Järvenpää, commissioned in July 2019
Tokmanni Iisalmi, commissioned in August 2019
Tokmanni Juva, commissioned in August 2019
Tokmanni Ilmajoki, commissioned in August 2019
Tokmanni Hollola, commissioned in August 2019
Tokmanni Forssa, commissioned in August 2019
Tokmanni Heinola, commissioned in September 2019
Tokmanni Parainen, commissioned in September 2019
Tokmanni Tammisaari, commissioned in September 2019
Tokmanni Mänttä, commissioned in September 2019
Tokmanni Hämeenkyrö, commissioned in September 2019
Tokmanni Loviisa, commissioned in October 2019
Tokmanni Orivesi, commissioned in November 2019
Tokmanni Vääksy, commissioned in November 2019
Tokmanni Raahe, commissioned in April 2020
Tokmanni Laitila, commissioned in June 2020
Tokmanni Lapua, commissioned in June 2020
Tokmanni Virrat, commissioned in June 2020
Tokmanni Seinäjoki, commissioned in June 2020
Tokmanni Turenki, commissioned in June 2020
Tokmanni Kirkkonummi, commissioned in July 2020
Tokmanni Mäntyharju, commissioned in July 2020
Tokmanni Varkaus, commissioned in July 2020
Tokmanni Keuruu, commissioned in August 2020
Tokmanni Aura, commissioned in October 2020
Tokmanni Pietarsaari, commissioned in October 2020
Tokmanni Nivala, commissioned in December 2020
Tokmanni Harjavalta, commissioned in March 2021
Tokmanni Sysmä, commissioned in May 2021
Tokmanni Porvoo, commissioned in June 2021
Tokmanni Parikkala, commissioned in June 2021
Tokmanni Orimattila, commissioned in July 2021
Tokmanni Inkeroinen, commissioned in July 2021
Tokmanni Iitti, commissioned in July 2021
Tokmanni Kaarina, commissioned in July 2021
Tokmanni Kangasala, commissioned in August 2021
Tokmanni Pirkkala, commissioned in August 2021
Tokmanni Nokia, commissioned in August 2021
Tokmanni Kerava, to be commissioned in September 2021
¹ The share of in-house solar power production of Tokmanni’s total electricity consumption has been calculated using estimates of Tokmanni’s in-house solar power production and total electricity consumption in 2021.
² The calculations use 2,000 kWh as the annual electricity consumption of an apartment and 20 kWh as the electricity consumption of an electric car for every 100 kilometres driven.
³ The share of in-house solar power production of Tokmanni’s total electricity consumption has been calculated using data provided by Tokmanni’s partners on Tokmanni’s in-house solar power production and total use of electricity in 2020 and 2019.
⁴ The estimated emissions reduction is based on the estimated annual output of the planned solar power plants. The CO₂ emission coefficient in Finland for average electricity generation has been used in the calculations, based on the average of the emission factors calculated using the benefit-sharing method for three statistical years (2017, 2018 and 2019). The emission coefficient only takes into account domestic energy production (meaning that purchased electricity is excluded) 131 kgCO₂/MWh. The value of the average emissions coefficient was updated on 13 April 2021.
More information about Tokmanni’s climate work is available at ir.tokmanni.fi/en/sustainability/climate. More information about Solarigo Systems’ solar power plants is available in Finnish at www.solarigo.fi.
TOKMANNI
For further information, please contact:
Harri Koponen
Vice President, Store Network and Concept
Tokmanni
Tel. +358 20 728 6030
harri.koponen(at)tokmanni.fi
Antti Koskelainen
CEO
Solarigo Systems
Tel. +358 40 726 7673
antti.koskelainen(at)solarigo.fi
Maarit Mikkonen
Head of IR and Communications
Tokmanni
Tel. +358 40 562 2282
maarit.mikkonen(at)tokmanni.fi
Calls to a corporate number beginning with +358 20 7 from a landline or a mobile phone are EUR 0.0835 per minute + EUR 0.1669 per minute (incl. VAT 24%). Calls from outside Finland are subject to an international call charge.
Tokmanni is Finland’s leading variety discount retailer. Some 4,000 Tokmanni employees make customers’ everyday life and special occasions easier by offering a versatile and up-to-date assortment of Finnish and international brand-name products and other high-quality products at prices that are always affordable. With nearly 200 stores around Finland and an online store, Tokmanni is always close to its customers. Tokmanni’s revenue in 2020 amounted to EUR 1,073.2 million. Tokmanni shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
Solarigo Systems Oy is a Finnish energy company supplying domestic solar power to companies as turnkey system deliveries and through electricity contracts requiring no investment from the customer. The principal owner of Solarigo is Lumme Energia Oy, which is part of the Suur-Savon Sähkö Group.
