The Karhunnevankankaan wind farm, located in Northern Ostrobothnia and consisting of 33 turbines with a total capacity of nearly 200 megawatts, has applied for corporate restructuring amidst changing electricity market conditions. Owned by WPD, the only client for this wind farm has been UPM. The company highlighted that since the contracts made in 2019, the electricity markets have undergone significant changes, making it increasingly challenging for wind power producers to navigate the market.

One of the primary challenges is Finland's transition to a 15-minute pricing mechanism for electricity, which has resulted in substantial unpredictability in supply and costs. If production forecasts made the previous day are not met, Fingrid, the transmission system operator, must procure the missing electricity from the markets. The financial burden of this procurement falls on the electricity producer who provided the erroneous forecast. This situation has been worsened by the volatility in electricity prices, which has escalated due to the growing amount of wind power combined with the cessation of electricity imports from Russia a few years ago.

The managing director of WPD Finland, Heikki P., expressed concerns about the sustainability of wind energy in the current market climate where prices fluctuate dramatically. The consequences are significant not only for the Karhunnevankankaan wind farm but could also signal broader challenges for the wind energy sector in Finland as additional pressure is placed on producers to adapt to the evolving electricity price landscape.