Latvia. Rigas Siltums AS
| Date of agreement: | 05 Jul 2023 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Latvia |
| Customer: | Rigas Siltums AS |
| Amount in EUR: | EUR 20 million |
| Maturity: | 10 years |
Financing from NIB Environmental Bond proceeds
NEB-eligible share: 42%
NEB category: Renewable energy generation
Amount disbursed: EUR 8.4 million
Note: For loans in other currencies than EUR, the equivalent in EUR is based on the exchange rate effective for the disbursement. Read more about the NIB Environmental Bonds
Project
NIB provides the loan to expand and reconstruct the heat distribution systems in Riga, and to enhance energy generation from sustainable biomass while improving production effectivity.
Rigas Siltums AS is a strategic regulated district heating utility owned by the Riga City Local Government (49%), the State of Latvia through the Ministry of Economics (48.995%), “Enerģijas risinājumi.RIX” Ltd. (2%), Latvenergo Public Limited Company (0,005%). The company is responsible for producing and supplying district heating to Riga City.
Fulfilment of NIB's mandate
The project fulfils both productivity and environmental mandates:
- Renovation of existing heat network sections will improve energy efficiency by replacing old pipelines from 1960/70s with optimized ones with insulation thickness, diameter of piping and layout.
- Installation of heat pumps and flue gas condensers will enhance the energy efficiency of existing generation facilities.
- Addition of renewable biomass-based energy generation capacities will reduce reliance on natural gas-generated heat.
In addition, from productivity mandate perspective:
- Digitalisation of the network will improve diagnostics, planning, and fault detection efficiency.
- Investing in the district heating network increases efficiency, reliability, and the provision of a vital public service.
- The current system has experienced losses below 12% in recent years, showing good performance.
From environmental mandate perspective the project is divided in two subprojects.
Expanding and reconstructing the heat distribution systems.
58% of the investments are allocated for expanding and reconstructing the heat distribution systems. According to Riga city air pollution reduction plan, the expansion and the use of centralized heating systems would help to reduce air pollution from individual sources, but the reconstruction of existing pipelines will reduce heat losses and thus also greenhouse gas emissions.
Enhancing energy generation from biomass and improving production effectiveness.
42% of the investments are dedicated to energy generation from biomass and improving production effectiveness and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Expected impact:
- Added renewable energy generation (53,000 MWh).
- Decreased energy consumption due to the implemented energy efficiency measures (29,000 MWh).
- New district heating distribution pipelines, km;
- Reconstructed district heating distribution pipelines, km.
Sustainability summary
NIB has not identified any significant sustainability issues in connection with the project. The project implementor is expected to use sustainable biomass and receive necessary permits for boiler houses.
