Ministers Virolainen and Tiilikainen to join the discussion on energy transition possibilities

NordenBladet — A delegation of directors and experts from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will visit Helsinki next week. They will also meet with Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen and Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen. The themes of the visit will be the global energy transition and Finland’s responses to it by means of research, innovation and the products and services of companies.

IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation that was founded in 2009. Since then it has rapidly risen to one of the leading organisations promoting international renewable energy use. Sakari Oksanen from Finland has been IRENA’s Deputy Director-General since 2015.

On the morning of Thursday 26 April, Business Finland will host a workshop for companies where the focus will be on the opportunities offered by the cooperation between Finland and IRENA. Minister Anne-Mari Virolainen will open the event, and Deputy Director-General Sakari Oksanen and other members of IRENA’s delegation will explain what kinds of services IRENA offers to companies regarding technological cooperation and renewable energy innovation, among others. Next, Finnish companies will have the opportunity to describe their special expertise in sustainable forestry, biomass handling and circular economy promotion.

In the afternoon, Aalto University will host a Smart Energy Transition Seminar that will seek answers to how to manage the seasonality in the clean energy system during cold winter weeks and how Finland can benefit from the ongoing global energy transition. The seminar will be attended by Minister Kimmo Tiilikainen, IRENA’s Director of Innovation and Technology Dolf Gielen and Professor Armi Temmes from Aalto University, among others. The seminar is organised by the Smart Energy Transition project of Finland’s Strategic Research Council together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and Business Finland.

On the morning of Friday 27 April, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will host an information sharing event focusing on Finland’s role in the global energy transition. After a presentation by IRENA’s representatives, Finnish responses to the global energy transition will be described by Satu Santala from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Petteri Kuuva from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Tiina Koljonen from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Armi Temmes from Aalto University and Helena Sarén from Business Finland.

Source: Finland.ee
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