The solar panels of the Turku Free Zone Company work long days

The solar panels of the Turku Free Zone Company work long days. Now, in the spring, electricity is generated until late in the evening, and in the summer, they also work the night shift.

Stefan Lindström, Managing Director of Turku Free Zone Company, is very pleased with the company’s solar panel investment.

“The panels produce about 15% of all our electricity consumption. Our large panel wall has also become a landmark known by everyone who visits Ruissalo. And there are more panels on the roof”, he adds with a smile.

Lindström encourages electric car owners to soon come and check out the solar panels at close range.

“A charging point for electric cars will be installed next to the panels in the parking lot during the summer. This means you’ll be able to charge your car while you’re out exploring Ruissalo.”

Energy-efficient heat and light

Stefan Lindström and Quality Manager Christoffer Dahla explain that, in recent years, Turku Free Zone Company has also improved the energy efficiency of its warehouses and invested in cleaner technology.

The company currently has approximately 14,000 square metres of heated storage space. Slightly less than half of that is heated with geothermal heating, and half by oil. The area is not within the sphere of district heating.

“We are currently looking into the possibility of replacing the oil heating with air-to-water heat pumps. The area already has so many geothermal wells that there is no room to add more”, Lindström says.

The company has also modernised the lighting of its warehouses.

“The outdoor areas and more than half of the indoor space have been updated with LED lighting. The LED lighting is also controlled using a smart system that ensures that the lights only come on when needed. The savings have been significant, since an LED light consumes only 10% of what is required for a corresponding fluorescent bulb”, Dahla points out.

Minimising driving needs

Turku Free Zone Company has also been able to improve its efficiency and save energy with the help of an efficient warehouse management system.

“Forklift drivers can use their system device to see exactly where goods are located. The system also optimises the driving distances so that products located in the same area can be retrieved at the same time.”

The company has also renewed its forklift equipment, so already half of the forklifts used are electric.

In addition, waste sorting and collection have been improved at Turku Free Zone Company.

“We currently have even more collection bins for different types of waste. The personnel participated in planning the location and labels of the waste bins. We need sorting instructions that are as clear and concrete as possible, because we have many people working here from all over the world”, Lindström thinks.

More work to be done

The City of Turku and the Port of Turku are aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2029. As a subsidiary of the Port, Turku Free Zone Company shares this objective.

“We have already done a lot, but of course there is still work to be done. In the future, we want to improve metrics, in particular, since they can also help us to establish new areas in which efficiency and savings can be found. We are already measuring our consumption of electricity and fuels as well as the amount of waste generated. In the future, we plan to also begin to more specifically calculate the direct and indirect CO2 emissions generated”, says Stefan Lindström.

Text: Matti Välimäki
Photos: Ilari Välimäki