Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company Nokia Corporation (HEL: NOKIA) today announced that it had been asked to build an IP/MPLS network to ‘support the transformation’ of the national electrical grid of Fingrid (Finland’s national transmission system operator). This, the Company said, would better enable Fingrid’s smart grid to support renewable energy.
Summarising its goals, the Group said:
- Nokia is installing a mission-critical IP/MPLS network to enable Fingrid to digitalize and automate the management of its national power grid.
- The new smart grid will be better able to seamlessly integrate variable renewables such as solar, wind and micro-generation from bioenergy.
- The Nokia network will also support all current and legacy grid control applications including SCADA, teleprotection and current differential protection.
The Company said Fingrid will use its new network to operate 120 high-voltage substations and control 14,600km of power transmission across the country, while aiding in the adoption of renewable alternatives.
With Finland already being one of Europe’s leading renewables users, Nokia said that their power transmission network needs to keep of evolving. “Solar and wind generation, for example, require a much more agile and automated grid to manage the variable, two-way power flows by automatically ramping and balancing inputs and outputs”.
The IPS/MPLS solution deployed by Nokia has been tried and tested ‘worldwide’; not only in these new grid applications but other critical operations, such as teleprotection, current differential systems, and supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA). This latest project will be carried ourt in partnership with NetNordic.
Elsewhere in renewables news, SIMEC Atlantis Energy (LON: SAE) made a series of operational announcements, JLEN (LON: JLEN) continues to gain momentum, Active Energy Group (LON: AEG) made an acquisition in North Carolina and Velocys PLC (LON: VLS) commercialised its alternative fuel offerings.
Nokia Comments
Speaking on the news, Kari Suominen, head of ICT for Fingrid, said,
“We are committed to realising the potential of renewable energy generation and are embarking on an ambitious transformation of our national grid to make it smarter and more flexible. Nokia’s IP/MPLS solution plays an important role in the digital transformation of our distributed energy resource management by providing us with a reliable, secure and agile communications system that has the potential to support all of our power management needs.”
Kamal Ballout, Global Vice President of Energy Practice for Nokia, said,
“Fingrid joins our long list of transmission system operator customers who are modernizing their networks and transforming their businesses by embracing more distributed and renewable energy sources. Through continued investment in our IP portfolio, we are able to meet the specific requirements of today’s energy market, helping them evolve their infrastructure for a more sustainable future.”
Investor notes
Following the update, Nokia rallied but then steadied out, up 0.13% or 0.004 EUR to 3.14 EUR per share 03/12/19 12:02 EET. On the New York Exchange, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares are down 1.14% or 0.04 USD to 3.46 USD per share 03/12/19 04:16 GMT. The Group’s dividend yield stands at 3.21%, their market cap is $19.94 billion.
