Fortum confirms power plant investment in Finland
The increasing demand for district heating in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi has made it feasible to build a new efficient combined heat and power plant
Fortum has decided to build a new combined heat and power production plant adjacent to the existing Suomenoja power plant in Espoo, Finland. The preplanning for the new plant has been completed and the purchasing of main equipment has been agreed. The value of the investment is about EUR 220 million. The power plant will be completed for production by the end of 2009, according to Fortum.
The increasing demand for district heating in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi has made it feasible to build a new efficient combined heat and power plant, the company said.
The new power plant will use natural gas as fuel. Its power production capacity will be 234 megawatts (MW), and the district heating capacity 214 MW. The annual district heating production corresponds to the district heating usage of 85 000 one-family houses and the annual electricity production corresponds to the electricity need of 100 000 electrically heated one-family houses in Finland.
Thanks to the new plant, the use of coal and oil in district heat production in the area will decrease. This will mean less coal and ash transportation in the area and a decrease in sulphur dioxide and particle emissions. There will be no substantial change in the emissions of nitrogen oxides. Compared to produced energy, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will decrease by more than 10%.
“Combined heat and power production is an efficient and environmentally benign way to produce energy. The new power plant will not have immediate effects on the price of district heating in the area. Our goal is to keep the prices of district heating competitive both now and in the future,” said Timo Karttinen from Fortum.
During construction, the employment effect will be around 300 man-years. The new plant has a valid environmental license, which was issued in August 2006. The preparation work for the the power plant construction will be started this summer.