Finland’s first solar park built in a mining area has been commissioned, and electricity production started on 4 June 2025. The solar park is a joint project of Skarta Energy and Solarigo Systems Oy. The solar park was built on the mine’s decommissioned and filled tailings pond.
Electricity production at the Callio solar park started on 4 June 2025. The investment decision for the project was made in the summer of 2023 and construction began in December 2023. The start of electricity production has required seamless cooperation between many different operators, so the first day of production was an important achievement.
“The Callio solar park will be completed at the sunniest time of the year. The last challenges of the construction phase have now been overcome and the commissioning has gone smoothly. In terms of production, we can get straight to maximum power. We thank Solarigo Systems for bringing the power plant into production readiness,” says Niko-Lassi Kurtti, Chief Development Officer, Skarta Energy.
The size of the solar park, which has a panel capacity of 13 MWp, is considerable. A total of
22,800 solar panels have been installed in the park. The annual production of the solar power plant is about 10 GWh, which corresponds to the annual consumption of almost 1300 Finnish households. The electricity produced by the park will mainly be utilised on site. When the underground operations of the Pyhäsalmi mine end, the Callio business area will be developed in the vicinity of the mine, the operators of which will make use of the mine’s existing infrastructure and solar park.
“The development and construction of Callio has gone smoothly in cooperation with the mining company, the municipality and several other operators. Although the park itself is now complete, the project will continue with the design of the battery solution. We are planning a 4 MW (8 MWh) battery solution for Callio,” says Project Manager Simo Rintakari, who was responsible for the Callio project.
One of the goals of Callio’s project was to create the conditions for harnessing the decommissioned mining areas for solar power production. In December 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment granted a total of EUR 12.1 million in Next Generation EU grants to the Callio and Hitura solar power projects. However, the Hitura project is still waiting for the closure of the mining concession before legally valid permits for construction can be granted.
