SENS to develop energy storage project at non-active Finnish mine

Sustainable Energy Solutions Sweden Holding AB (SENS) has signed a pact for the potential delivery of two separate technologies for a combined 160-MW energy storage capacity at the non-active Pyhasalmi mine in Finland, with an option to expand the project through the addition of a solar plant.

The company said today that it has entered into a principal agreement with municipally owned development company Callio to integrate an 85-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with a 75-MW/530-MWh underground pumped storage hydro (UPHS) facility in the town of Pyhajarvi and possibly add solar power generation to further increase the grid capacity in the region.

The BESS component is currently in a ready-to-build phase and could be launched in operation within a year.

Apart from SENS and Callio, the project also involves UB Corporate Finance Ltd, acting as financial partner, and Swiss renewable energy producer and trader Axpo Holding AG.

“For Callio, the UPHS and BESS projects are important cornerstone initiatives for the repurposing of mining infrastructure and the green transition in the Olcconen industrial park. In Pyhajarvi, we see the project entity as important both locally and nationally,” said Henrik Kiviniemi, Town Manager of Pyhajarvi.

In late 2022, the Finnish government allocated a EUR-26.3-million (USD 28.5m) grant to support initiatives within renewable energy at the site.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.086)

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