Generator Commander, developed together with Arcteq, is unlike anything the energy business has ever seen before. In other words, we’re currently in the middle of a revolution. And that’s a good place to be.

Generator Commander does the job that previously required 5 different devices. When our first Generator Commanders were commissioned, we, together with Arcteq and Svea Power, made global history by gathering all generator auxiliaries to one device. This year we will focus on general improvements and on expanding excitation power functionality to a whole new level. Several Generator Commanders have already been sold and the enthusiasm in the market is vast! In close cooperation with Arcteq, I honestly believe that we have every opportunity to launch this product to the world market.

Project-wise 2016 was also a remarkable year. We handed over Harjavalta G3, a new unit for the existing power plant. The existing and refurbished G1 and G2 units will be delivered at the end of this year. Finland hasn’t seen an entirely new turbine generator investment of this magnitude in a few decades, so I’m proud that we were a part of that story. Another highlight is the frame agreement with one of Norway’s big energy producers, Eidsiva Vannkraft AS. The frame agreement, extending to the end of 2020, gives us a great base load for the coming years. We also signed our hydropower department’s biggest contract ever, Nedre Otta. The project will continue until fall 2020 and keep us busy especially in 2018–2019 in the office and 2019–2020 at the site. We are part of this NOK 1,2 billion investment as Eidsiva is building one of the largest new hydropower plants in the Nordic countries. I’m looking forward to this cooperation.

Renewable energy, including hydropower, is one of the global megatrends. Hydropower can meet the need for reserve power production. It has the advantage of fast power system disturbance support unlike wind power or solar power. Especially in Finland and in Sweden, the trend in the hydropower sector is to focus on rehabilitations instead of building new hydropower. VEO can increase the usability and reliability of old power plants through system upgrades. As a project integrator, we’re ready for the new way of thinking that renewable solutions require. VEO’s philosophy is to combine a broad range of products and solutions with local expertise and keep things flowing smoothly throughout the entire project. Thus, I feel confident enough to say that whatever new currents 2017 has in store, our customers can sit back and focus on energy production – we got this.