Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) provides loan for 170-MW bio heating plant in Finland

NIB has signed a 15-year loan with the Finnish utility Lahti Energia for the construction of the new bio fuelled heating plant Kymijärvi III.

The project is part of the City of Lahti’s plan to halve CO₂ emissions by 2025 compared to 1990 levels. The new 170 MW bio fuelled heating plant will replace the existing 350 MW coal-fired plant, Kymijärvi I, which will come to the end of its technical lifetime in 2020. The new plant will produce heat for the district heating network of the City of Lahti and Hollola.                         

The new bio fuelled plant is designed in accordance with the best available techniques and will use certified biomass as its primary fuel. Kymijärvi III will also be equipped with efficient flue gas treatment to comply with the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive.

The design includes efficient flue gas treatment, heat recovery from the flue gas and treatment of condensate from the heat recovery. The heat recovery is estimated to improve overall efficiency by 10–15%. The project is expected to decrease CO₂ emissions by up to 500,000 tonnes per year. Emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are assessed to decrease by about 600 tonnes per year.

Lahti Energia estimates the total cost of the heat production project at €165 million (US$172 million).

Lahti Energia was founded in 1907 as a versatile energy company that invests in eco-efficiency and emerging technologies. Our products include electricity, district heating and cooling, natural gas, industrial process energies, as well as other services related to the production and use of energy. The company is owned by the City of Lahti.