Nordic Bank extends €20m loan to increase hydropower generation in Finland

The Nordic Investment Bank will extend a €20m loan to hydroelectric power producer Kemijoki Oy to enhance hydroelectric power generation in Finland.

Extended under the Bank’s Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy facility (CLEERE), the loan will have a 12-year maturity period.

Kemijoki Oy will employ the secured funds to upgrade, repair and refurbish its existing hydropower generating facilities to enhance overall capacity by 25MW.

Commenting on the loan Nordic Investment Bank president and CEO Henrik Normann noted, "NIB’s loan helps Kemijoki increase its hydropower capacity in a very cost efficient way while reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

The improvements, expected to be completed by 2016, will result in a net increase of 14GWh per annum in hydro power generation.

Upgrades and repair works at existing facilities will be carried out such that they pose no risk to the existing water channel or concrete structures.

An increase in hydropower generation in Finland serves to reduce the country’s dependence on energy derived from fossil fuels.

Kemijoki currently operates 20 hydropower plants in Finland, comprising a total capacity of 1,142MW.