Helsinki Energia Outlines Energy Plan to Achieve 2030 Energy Target

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Finland's leading energy company, Helsinki Energia (Helsinki), intends to invest 3 billion euros ($4.25 billion) in the next two decades to upgrade all of the company's power generation facilities and achieve its 2030 energy target. The company recently presented the investment plan to its board of directors, which will make a decision in the coming months. According to the plan, the company will increase the share of renewable energy to 38% of the total energy supply by 2030 and will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to levels that are 98% lower than 1990 levels. Consequently, the cost of district heating will rise 40% to 50%. The company is aware that the implementation of the proposed plan will adversely affect its ability to pay revenue into the city's coffers.

Helsinki Energia currently operates five combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Helsinki and three power plants in the Kymi province. The highly efficient CHP plants produce electricity as well as district heat and cooling.

Helsinki Energia intends to implement the plan in two phases. During the first phase (2014-18), the company's Hanasaari and Salmisaari coal-fired power plants will be fitted with equipment allowing the plants to operate on biofuel and coal. Wood chips will account for 40% of the fuel utilized by both plants. The units will then operate on biomass gasification technology. The company will simultaneously ensure that there is a secure supply of fuel for the plants. The fuel depot will be located near Helsinki so that transportation costs are minimal. The Hanasaari B power plant produces 220 megawatts (MW) of electric power and 445 MW of district heat. The Salmisaari B power plant produces 160 MW of electric power and 480 MW of district heat. The heat-producing unit of Salmisaari A is used when heat requirements increase, while surplus power from Salmisaari B is used for generating district cooling.

The first phase also includes the increase of wind power by up to 6 million kilowatt-hours, which will increase the share of renewable energy to 21% of the total power generation. Helsinki's offshore area to the south of the Harmaja Island has been identified as the site of the wind park.

The second phase of the plan will be implemented after 2020 and will involve establishing a gasification plant for forest residue near a pipeline transporting natural gas. The facility will be set up in partnership with a company that operates biomass-based plants and is highly experienced in operating natural gas systems. The gas produced will be used in the combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants at Vuosaari and in gas-based heating plants. The Vuosaari A and B power plants together produce 630 MW of electric power and 580 MW of district heat.

The Hanasaari power plant is scheduled to be closed down in 2025, and a new multi-fuel power plant will be set up in the eastern suburb of Vuosaari. By 2030, Helsinki Energia also intends to set up a carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant at the new multi-fuel plant and the Salmisaari complex.

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