Finland’s energy decisions are based on misleading data from the International Energy Agency, according to professors at the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). They have warned the agency has underestimated the potential of renewable energy sources.
As reported by the news site Yle, Finland mostly relies on nuclear power and fossil fuels, primarily imported from Russia.
"New technologies and opportunities are significantly underestimated, at least within the parameters that are visible, and which have been used as a basis for decision-making,” Lassi Linnanen, a professor of environmental economics at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, was quoted as saying.
For instance, the International Energy Agency forecasts that renewables will only produce 14% of the world’s energy by 2030, whereas growth figures suggest the figure will be closer to 60%.
According to officials at the employment ministry and the economy ministry’s energy department, however, there is no reason to worry about Finland’s energy policy decisions.
Meanwhile, Finland’s financial daily Taloussanomat asked to see the calculations used as the basis for energy policy. The courts, however, have ruled that the ministry is not obliged to release its energy models.
http://neurope.eu/article/finlands-energy-decisions-questioned/
