Fortum inaugurates the first biofuel and waste-fired combined heat and power plant in the Baltic states

Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic of Finland, today inaugurated Fortum’s new combined heat and power plant in the city of Klaipeda, Lithuania. For the generation of heat and electrical energy, the power plant uses municipal and industrial waste as well as biofuel.  The heat energy generated will be provided to the heating of residential houses and businesses in Klaipeda, and the electricity produced will be directed to the Lithuanian power grid. It is the first power plant of its kind in the Baltic countries.

“Using waste as fuel in combined heat and power production is a sustainable solution for cities. It offers a cost-efficient answer for both energy and waste management needs, and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably as compared to depositing waste in landfills,” said Markus Rauramo, Fortum’s CFO at the inauguration ceremony today.

“Today is a special day for us. The Klaipeda combined heat and power plant is the first of four we will inaugurate this year in the Baltic and Nordic countries. Combined heat and electrical power production is our main strategy, and we strongly believe in the benefits of using sustainable, local fuels whenever possible,” Mr Rauramo continued.

Fortum’s new combined heat and power plant will replace the old natural gas-fired heat production plant in Klaipeda and reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 100 000 tons per year. Compared to heat-only production, the waste-fired combined heat and power generation will considerably increase energy consumption efficiency and have a positive impact on both the waste management and district heating costs.

230 000 tons of waste and biofuel can be incinerated annually in the new power plant’s boiler, having an energy efficiency close to 90%.  The electricity production capacity of the plant is 20 MW and the heat production capacity is 50 MW. Furthermore, 15 MW of heat will be additionally obtained at peak demand times by using flue-gas condensers.