NIB-financed waste-to-energy plant launched in Lithuania

At the official commissioning of the Fortum waste-to-energy combined heat and power plant in Klaipeda on 15 May 2013. In the centre: the Presidents of Finland and Lithuania, Sauli Niinistö and Dalia Grybauskaitė. Photo: Fortum Klaipeda

The Finnish engineering company Fortum has inaugurated the first waste-to-energy combined heat and power plant in the Baltic countries. The plant, located in Klaipeda, Lithuania, has been co-financed with a EUR 70 million loan from NIB.

The power plant uses municipal and industrial waste as well as biomass as fuels to provide district heating to the residents and businesses in Klaipeda and electricity to the Lithuanian power grid. It is the first of its kind in the Baltic countries.

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

Fortum’s new power plant replaces old natural gas-fired heat production in Klaipeda. It is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 100,000 tonnes a year. The plant’s boiler can incinerate 230,000 tonnes of waste and biomass a year. The plant will produce approximately 380 GWh of heat and 120 GWh of electricity a year, which covers approximately 40% of Klaipeda’s district heating demand.

The event in Klaipeda on 15 May 2013 was attended by the presidents of Lithuania and Finland, Dalia Grybauskaitė and Sauli Niinistö.