NIB finances Finnish hydropower plants upgrade

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a 12-year maturity loan of EUR 20 million with Finnish hydroelectric company Kemijoki Oy to renew and increase its hydroelectricity output.

Kemijoki will use the fund to finance a refurbish and upgrade program for its hydropower facilities in Finland. The total capacity of Kemijoki’s plants will increase without interfering with existing water channel or concrete structures. The program is expected to increase Kemijoki’s hydropower capacity by 25 MW, and output by 14 GWh annually, when completed in 2016.

The increasing efficiency of existing hydropower plants will help reduce reliance on fossil fuel-based electricity production.

“NIB’s loan helps Kemijoki increase its hydropower capacity in a very cost efficient way while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Henrik Normann, NIB President and CEO.

The higher output of Kemijoki’s hydropower plants will also improve Finland’s ability to balance its need for electricity in various seasons. The opportunity to store water in reservoirs and adjust the capacity of turbines to actual demand makes hydropower best suited for balancing the level of electricity production for the national grid. This capacity is necessary for Finland to expand power generation from other renewable sources.

NIB rates the loan as an environmental investment and places it in its Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy facility, or CLEERE.

Kemijoki Oy is one of Finland’s largest producers of hydroelectric power and majority owned by the Finnish state. The company operates twenty hydropower plants with a total capacity of 1,142 MW. Kemijoki is responsible for 30% of national daily regulation and is the most significant supplier of frequency-controlled operation and disturbance reserves in Finland.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact:
Mr Sebastian Påwals, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0527,

Mr Arild Moen, Senior Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0420,