FINLAND – The EU recently granted around $145 million (EUR 127 million) in support for the Aurora Line, a new electricity transmission link between Finland and Sweden.

The Aurora Line is a new electricity transmission link between Finland and Northern Sweden, developed by the Finnish national utility Fingrid and the Swedish transmission system operator Svenska kraftnät.

The transmission line will run from Pyhänselkä in Muhos, Finland, to Messaure in Northern Sweden, a distance of 236 miles (380 km).

“The Aurora Line is the most important investment in Finland’s main grid this decade,” said Jukka Ruusunen, President & CEO of Fingrid. “It represents a major step forward in the electrification of Finland, bringing us closer to our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035. The Aurora Line will also contribute to the emergent industrial cooperation between Finland and Sweden in the Bay of Bothnia region,” Ruusunen added.

When the Aurora Line is completed, it should increase the electricity transmission capacity from Sweden to Finland and reduce the price of electricity in Finland, as well as enable further construction of renewable energy and promote the achievement of the country’s climate goals. The interconnector should also improve the security of energy supply in Finland and the Baltic Sea region more widely.

The total costs of the construction phase of this joint amount to $290 million (EUR 254 million). The EU grant corresponds to half the costs of the construction phase. The project has already been granted around $4.9 million (EUR 4.3 million) of funding under the Connecting Europe Facility for the planning phase. As the project will be particularly beneficial for Finland, Fingrid is paying the majority of the investment cost and will also receive most of the grant on this basis.

The line is expected to be completed in phases in 2024 and 2025, Fingrid said in a press release.

Source: Fingrid