Hietama

The power plant has been renovated and modernised several times since it was built. For example, the turbine and generator were renovated in 1989, the automation system was replaced in 1994, and a major refurbishment project was carried out in 2018.

In 2013, Vattenfall initiated the construction of fish ladders at Hietama and the nearby Leuhunkoski power plant, as they had been identified in a Finnish national investigation to be two of the fifty most significant fish barriers in the country that needed to be addressed.

Both fish ladders were completed in 2021 and now form a key migratory route for trout and other species.

Hydro power in Finland

Large-scale hydro power plant construction took place after the Second World War, when the country’s rebuilding work and the paper and pulp industry required a great deal of energy.

The largest hydro power stations are located on rivers in northern and north-eastern Finland. Around half of the watercourses have been modified for electricity generation. Unregulated rapids are protected, so additional capacity can be obtained by increasing the efficiency of existing power plants or by creating artificial lakes.