Finland. Seinäjoen Voima Oy

Date of agreement:12 Dec 2022
Country:Finland
Customer:Seinäjoen Voima Oy
Amount in EUR:EUR 20 million
Maturity:12 years
NACE sector / loan type:Electricity, gas, steam and hot water supply

This loan contributes to climate change mitigation: 100%

Project

The loan has been provided to Seinäjoen Voima Oy (SEVO) for a new biofuelled district heating plant, a district heating battery, and an electric heat boiler in Seinäjoki, Finland.

The new district heating plant has a capacity of 49.5 MW, the district heating battery has a discharge power of 40 MW and the power of the electric boiler is 40 MW.

The investments will optimise the company’s energy production, allowing it to replace the old combined heat and power (CHP) plant run on biofuel and peat in the coming years. Currently, the old plant remains in limited operations to ensure the security of supply during the on-going energy crisis.

Seinäjoki Voima Oy produces heat and electricity for Seinäjoki, a city of around 65,000 inhabitants and businesses in Western Finland. The company is fully owned and operated by EPV Energia Oy.

Fulfilment of NIB's mandate

Productivity:

The new 49.5 MW biofuel heating plant, Kapernaum (K6), has the potential to produce around 150-260 GWh of energy annually, increasing the heat production capacity by 100 GWh per year. This will accommodate for the expected demand and allow for the decommissioning of an existing old plant which is coming to the end of its technical lifetime. At the same time, the new plant increases the share of biofuel in the energy mix substantially, thus reducing the vulnerability to energy supply disturbances in the network.

The new district heating battery and the electric boiler will further increase the security of supply. The thermal battery consists of a 10,000 m3 water tank that can store about 400 MWh of thermal energy, equal to the heat consumption of approximately 7,500 single-family homes per day. The electric boiler will have an annual energy generation potential of around 60-70 GWh.

The combination of these investments will diversify heat sources and increase flexibility, thus allowing for more economical production.

Impact indicators in relation to the investments:

  • Added annual energy production, GWh K6
  • Annual energy generation, GWh, district heating battery and electric boiler

Environment:

The K6 district heating plant will primarily use wood biomass as a fuel. The plant also has the readiness to use peat as a part of the fuel mix, however this is limited based on the security of supply reasons.

Assuming the annual production of 150 GWh, the new district heating plant is estimated to result in an annual reduction of air emissions by approximately 30,000 tonnes of CO2eq, 40 tonnes of sulphur oxides (SOx), 20 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 4 tonnes of particulate matter (PM10).

Moreover, the investments in the district heating battery and the electric boiler will optimise the plant operations, increasing its energy efficiency. They will also partly replace heat generation through fuel burning, thus further reducing the emissions. The estimated emission reductions from these investments are 45,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Impact indicators in relation with the investments:

  • Reduction of air emissions from the district heating system (CO2, SOx, NOx and PM), tonnes per year, K6
  • Reduction of emissions related to the district heating battery and electric boiler, tonnes of CO2 per year
  • Usage of peat in K6

Sustainability summary

As the new district heating plant, the district heating battery and the electric heat boiler are all constructed within the existing plant area, the related negative environmental impacts are assessed to be local and limited. The wood-based fuel is made from the forestry industry side stream, sawmill residues and logging residues, mainly sourced from within the Southern Ostrobothnia region.

In terms of EU Taxonomy alignment, the projects fulfil substantial contribution criteria.

Press release
04.01.2023

NIB finances district heating transformation in Western Finland

Press release

NIB rahoittaa investointeja kaukolämpöön Seinäjoella