New bio-energy plant in eastern Norway

NIB is financing the construction of a bio-energy plant in eastern Norway that not only offers an environmentally friendly solution to waste treatment, but will also enable the region to move away from fossil fuels as a source of energy for electricity and district heating.
 
NIB and the Norwegian energy company, Eidsiva Energi AS, have signed a loan agreement totalling EUR 40 million. The financing is earmarked for the construction of a waste incineration power plant. The waste-to-energy plant will also serve as an environmentally friendly answer to Norway’s new law against landfilling residual waste.
 
The new plant will be able to produce approximately 200 GWh of energy and the district heating network capacity will be doubled. Renewable energy is starting to play a major role in efforts towards a more sustainable world, and NIB aims to finance projects that contribute to this development.
 
“In order to alleviate climate change, it is critical to turn energy production away from oil, coal, and gas towards renewable sources of energy like the sun, wind, water, and biomass. By financing this new waste-to-energy plant, NIB is helping to speed up this shift,” says Johnny Åkerholm, NIB President and CEO.
 
Upon completion in 2011, the plant will treat up to 72,000 tonnes of waste a year. The plant will achieve a high level of energy utilisation through the production of electricity, the generation of steam for local industry and the production of heat for the district heating system. The waste incineration plant will remove all previous dependency on oil in the district heating system.
 
Although incineration will cause an increase in CO2 emissions, it is estimated that the plant will cause a net annual decrease in emissions of CO2 of 39,000 tonnes. In addition, there is an environmental benefit in not having to transport the waste from the region to distant incineration plants.

The plant is strategically located in the Hamar municipality, where both the households producing the waste and the consumers of the generated heat, like district heating and industry, are located.

Eidsiva Energi AS, owned by local municipalities and counties, is a regional energy company producing and distributing energy and heat to 150,000 customers in central and eastern Norway.

NIB is a multilateral financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact

Mr Vidar Omholt, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0286,

Ms Nina Monsen, Communications Specialist, at +358 10 618 0291,

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