A bio-heating boiler plant delivered for clean energy company Fortum to Espoo, Finland, has been officially handed over for commercial use.
The plant uses Finnish based KPA Unicon’s Renefluid bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler, generates district heating for residents of Espoo utilizing wood biomass, and will replace part of the old coal-based heat production.
The plant’s output is 49 MW and due to the Unicon Condenser it produces up to 58 MW of district heat. Advanced combustion technology, efficient heat recovery, flue gas condensing and heat pump technology enable high levels of energy efficiency.
Special attention has been paid to the environmental friendliness of the bio plant. KPA Unicon’s BFB boiler utilizes carbon-neutral biomass that is not suitable for other uses, such as forest residue chips and demolition wood. In addition to the availability of climate-friendly fuels, during the implementation of the plant, special attention was given to combating local emissions.
The plant’s dust, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions have been managed using the most advanced technologies in the industry, which ensure local emissions are significantly lower than the regulations and recommendations of the authorities.
“It has been a pleasure to be involved in meeting Fortum’s heat production needs and to work together towards a cleaner future. The delivery was a confirmation that KPA Unicon has the technology and ability to supply plants of this size, helping solve green energy investment needs of Helsinki metropolitan area”, says Jukka-Pekka Kovanen, Managing Director of KPA Unicon.
“The new bio-heating boiler plant in Kivenlahti is an important step in our Espoo Clean Heat program … to generate completely carbon-neutral district heating in this decade and to discontinue the use of coal in 2025. The biomass-fired heating plant will replace one of the coal-fired units from Suomenoja power plant,” says Panu Ahrnberg, Head of Production at Fortum.
KPA Unicon is investing heavily in developing new energy solutions and sees responsible use of biomass waste and recycled fuels as a big part of the future energy mix, which saves valuable natural resources, combats climate change and keeps living environment healthy.
It should also be noted that the energy from local unusable biomass and energy waste reduces purchases of imported fossil fuels and brings significant economic benefits.