Pyhäkoski hydroelectric power plant, one of the largest of its kind in Finland, located about twenty-five kilometers east of Oulu
Courtesy Embassy of Finland, Washington

Finland lacked petroleum, gas, and coal reserves, but it had significant mineral deposits. As in many industrial countries, low-cost imported petroleum fueled economic growth from the end of World War II until the 1973 oil crisis. Finland's forest industries, which were heavy energy users, had developed in the context of low energy prices. Even the achievement of agricultural self-sufficiency owed much to energy imports, in the form of either fuel for tractors or chemical fertilizers. From the 1970s, Finland's economy had to adjust to high energy costs. Finnish policy makers therefore had to ensure that the country used its other resources, including its mineral deposits, as efficiently as possible.

Data as of December 1988