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Finland
Finland |
Description to Finland
The republic in Northern Europe with the capital Helsinki covers 338,472 square kilometres and borders Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. Although there is no viticulture here, there is a curious wine production. Several nuclear power plants are operated on the rocky island of Olkiluoto near the south-west coast at 61 degrees latitude. In 2001, 150 vines of the red wine variety Zilga were planted near the site. This extremely frost-hardy new variety originates from Latvia.
The warm water from the cooling system of individual reactors flows through plastic pipes under a nearby field like a football stadium pitch heating system, keeping the ground frost-free all year round. Initially, it was expected that up to 3,000 kilograms of grapes would be harvested per year, but the first yield from the 2003 vintage was actually considerably lower at just under 100 kilograms. The project is part of a government research programme to make sensible use of waste heat from nuclear power stations. The heated area has already been used to grow watermelons, corn and lettuce, among other things. Traditionally, wine-like drinks are made from various berries in Finland.
Map: © Goruma
Flag: by Sebastian Koppehel, Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: Public domain, Link