Lohja bioenergy heating plant inaugurated
1/7/2013 5:00 AM EST
Metsäliitto Cooperative
Press release
Lohja bioenergy heating plant inaugurated
Metsä Group Press Release 7 January 2013
Jari Koskinen, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, inaugurated the new
bioenergy heating plant in Lohja, Finland, on 7 January 2013. The plant,
situated next to Metsä Group's Kerto mill in Lohja is significant for energy
supply in the area as the plant produces a combined annual total of about
160,000 MWh of heat to the Lohja district heating network, and process steam to
the Kerto mill of Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group.
Kari Jordan, President and CEO of Metsä Group, says that the Lohja bioenergy
heating plant extensively promotes the Group's goal of making its production
units more energy-effective and environmentally friendly. ”Metsä Group is an
important producer and consumer of bioenergy. At the moment, already more than
80% of the fuel consumed by the entire Group is wood-based. Through the
bioenergy heating plant, the annual carbon dioxide emissions of Metsä Wood's
Kerto mill and the Lohja area will decrease by about 40,000 tonnes."
The bioenergy heating plant is also pivotal in improving the competitiveness of
the Kerto mill because most of the previous coal-based heat production will be
replaced by bioenergy heat. For fuel, the bioenergy plant uses the Kerto mill's
by-products, and supplementary forest chips and other wood-based fuels. The
carbon dioxide emissions caused by traffic in the Lohja region will also
decrease.
Metsä Wood's Kerto® panels and beams, manufactured from lathed softwood veneer
by gluing, have been used for many decades for wood structures where
dimensional accuracy, rigidity and good load-bearing features are key. Kerto
has been used at several locations throughout Finland, and it is also used
extensively in the rest of Europe, such as Germany, France and Italy. Metsä
Wood's Kerto mills are based in Lohja and Punkaharju, and their combined
production volume is about 230,000 cubic metres.
The bioenergy heating plant was a joint venture worth about EUR 17 million. The
plant constructor was Lohjan Biolämpö Oy. Its shareholders are Lohjan
Energiahuolto Oy Loher (49%), Metsäliitto Cooperative (46%) and Ääneseudun
Energia (5%). The project built a new boiler plant based on BFB technology and
the related wood fuel reception and processing systems. The bioenergy heating
plant was inaugurated at the start of the year after an 18-month construction
project.
METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications
For further information, please contact:
Ilkka Latvala, SVP, Energy, Metsä Group tel. +358 (0) 50 381 9353
Reeta Kaukiainen, SVP, Metsä Group Communications, tel. +358 (0)10 465 4541
Images can be downloaded from Metsä Group’s image bank:
http://databank.metsagroup.com/?cart=1286-ifieibhbbg&l=FI
www.metsagroup.com
Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group. Our products are part of
people’s everyday life, promoting sustainable well-being. Metsä Group produces
high-quality products mainly from renewable Nordic wood. The Group’s business
areas are tissue and cooking papers, board and paper, pulp, wood products as
well as wood supply. Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion in 2011, and
it employs approximately 12,500 people. The Group operates in some 30
countries.
www.metsawood.com
Metsä Wood offers competitive and eco-efficient wood-based solutions for
industrial construction customers, other industrial customers and the home and
lifestyle sectors. We manufacture products from Nordic wood, a sustainable raw
material of premium quality. Our sales were EUR 940 million in 2011, and we
employ about 2,900 people. Metsä Wood is part of Metsä Group.