On April 1, 2025, Finland took a historic step by closing its last coal-fired power plant — the Salmisaari plant in Helsinki. With this move, Finland has become one of the first countries in Europe to completely eliminate coal from its energy production process, reducing coal’s share in total energy production to less than 1%. This milestone represents a key part of the Finnish government’s strategy to fully phase out coal use by 2029, while transitioning to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, with a particular focus on wind energy.
Since 2003, Finland has reduced coal’s share in energy production from 23% to under 1%, while the share of wind energy has increased by more than 50% since 2020 and now accounts for 25% of the country’s total energy production.
In addition, Finland joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance in 2017, an international initiative that supports countries in phasing out coal. The legislation mandating the complete phase-out of coal by 2029 was passed in Finland in 2019. Recognizing the economic challenges associated with this transition, the Finnish government has implemented various support measures, including an incentive package for businesses choosing to switch to cleaner energy sources.
It is worth recalling that the United Kingdom completed its historic coal phase-out last year, and many other OECD countries have also embarked on the same path. Today, 14 OECD countries operate without coal in their electricity generation, while another 13 countries plan to achieve a phased coal exit by 2030.
All of these efforts are aligned with the European Union’s “Fit for 55” package, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% by 2030. This package is part of the broader framework of the European Green Deal, which envisions Europe becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.