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Pjelax wind farm enters the mFRR market unlocking new value through automated flexibility
8 June 2026 at 11:16 EEST
Pjelax wind farm, owned by Fortum (60%) and Helen (40%) will begin participating in the manual Frequency Restoration Reserve (mFRR) market starting from June 2026. This marks an important milestone in how large-scale renewable assets can actively balance the electricity system and support its reliability as the energy transition accelerates. This also gives the wind farm a new source of revenue at a time when wind power often earns less, since prices tend to fall when generation is high.
Fortum has been selected to provide the mFRR activation and market services for Pjelax, combining deep market expertise with advanced automation. The solution enables the wind farm to respond to system needs efficiently, even under rapidly changing weather and market conditions.
With 380 MW of capacity and 56 turbines, Pjelax is among the largest wind farms in Finland supporting system balance through mFRR. As large renewable assets participate in balancing markets, they help strengthen system reliability and support a stable electricity supply during changing conditions, says Antti Mäkinen, Product Manager, Flexibility Offering, Fortum.
Pjelax operates in a highly automated set-up where forecasting, trading signals and operational limits are seamlessly connected. This allows reliable participation in balancing markets without compromising core electricity production even in challenging wind conditions.
How wind flexibility supports system reliability
The mFRR entry demonstrates how large wind farms can be integrated into flexibility markets at scale, supporting Finland’s power system as renewable capacity continues to grow.
In practice, this kind of flexibility supports the grid in two ways: through down-regulation, the wind farm can temporarily reduce generation when there is excess electricity in the system; and through up-regulation, it can hold back production for a period so that it has headroom to ramp up output when demand exceeds supply. This helps the transmission system operator keep supply and demand in balance and maintain system frequency.
Flexibility services and balancing markets are playing an increasingly important role in the Nordic power system, and Fortum has identified digitalisation and smart optimisation as key enablers in this development, adds Mäkinen.
Why Fortum?
Fortum’s flexibility offering helps customers with flexible assets access balancing and ancillary service markets and optimise dispatch across changing prices and system needs. Backed by deep market know-how and advanced automation, Fortum supports a wide range of use cases, from battery storage to flexible consumption (such as e-boilers and data centres) and flexible generation, including renewables, helping customers unlock new value while supporting power system reliability.
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