The power plant was bought by the Kuusinkijoki River Rehabilitation Association. The power plant will be shut down next summer and the river basin in the area will be restored and rehabilitated.
The Kuusinkijoki kuntoon association buys the Myllykoski small hydroelectric power plant on the Kuusinkijoki River in Kuusamo from Koskienergia for €3.8 million. The purchase agreement was signed in Helsinki on Thursday 15 December.
The power plant is due to be decommissioned in August next year and will be turned into a museum. The river basin of the hydroelectric power plant will be restored and after the restoration, the endangered Kuusinkijoki River trout will have a free migration route from Lake Pääjärvi in Russia to the eastern watersheds of Kuusamo.
Trash fish are caught out
The association plans to use the project to recruit professional fishermen to catch lower-value fish in estuaries such as Lakes Vuotunki and Suininkijärvi. The catches of roach and pike will make room for trout that are rising in the region’s waterways.
The river area of \u200b\u200bthe hydropower plant is to be renovated in such a way that water can flow in the area along the old Siilijoki riverbed.
The Kuusinkijoki kuntoon association has acquired the money for the purchase of the power plant over the course of a year and a half through a collection in which private people, associations, the city of Kuusamo with more than 300,000 euros and the state with a grant of two million euros have participated.
Myllykoski small hydropower plant was built in 1956. The power plant has produced electricity for the needs of an average of 500 electrically heated houses every year. The power plant has a capacity of 1.4 megawatts.
The power plant no longer prevents the rise of trout
When the river bed is now restored and the fish start to come up from Russia to Kuusamo along the free route, it is believed that fishing tourism will also grow significantly in the already known river areas belonging to the Koutajoki watershed.
– This is a huge favor specifically for nature and the trout of the Koutajoki watershed. Hopefully, in June 2024, an excavator will open the bridge over Siilijoki’s current road dam, and then water will be released into Siilijoki. Hopefully the fish will start to rise immediately past the power plant, says Matti Aikio.
Kuusinkijoki is a popular place for recreational fishing. Among other things, the world championships of fly fishing will be organized on the river in the summer of 2021.
*You can discuss the topic until 23:00 on December 16.*