Finland s new era of home energy storage

Why has Finland halted gas & electricity supplies?

It has the longest Russian border in the EU and Moscow has now halted gas and electricity supplies in the wake of Finland's decision to join NATO. Concerns over sources of heat and light, especially with the long, cold Finnish winter on the horizon are preoccupying politicians and citizens alike.

Can sand make Finland's cities more sustainable?

Heating Finland's cities is becoming more sustainable thanks to sand. Finnish startup Polar Night Energy has developed a battery that uses sand to trap and store energy from solar and wind electricity. The battery is a high-energy storage facility located in Kankaanpää and is fed power from the grid whenever excess electricity is available.

Will a battery change Finland's district heating?

From housing to businesses and a municipal swimming pool, this battery is slowly changing the game for Finland's district heating. By 2050, more than 68 percent of humanity is expected to live in urban areas. But are our cities prepared for all the challenges this entails?

Does Finland have green power?

Finland gets most of its gas from Russia, so the war in Ukraine has drawn the issue of green power into sharp focus. It has the longest Russian border in the EU and Moscow has now halted gas and electricity supplies in the wake of Finland's decision to join NATO.

Does Finland need a district heating system?

"It's very useful in Finland where we have cold winters and need heating pretty much from September to May, [due to] an average annual temperature of under 10C (50F)," she says, adding that half of Finland's 5.5 million people are connected to a district heating network.

How does vatajankowski use stored heat?

Vatajankowski is using this stored heat, in conjunction with excess heat from its own data servers, to feed the local district heating system, which uses piped water to transmit heat around the area. It can then be used to heat buildings, or swimming pools, or in industrial processes, or in any other situation that requires heat.