NIB co-finances new bio heating plant in Lahti, Finland

Photo: Lahti Energia

NIB has signed a 15-year loan with the Finnish utility Lahti Energia for the construction of the new bio fuelled heating plant Kymijärvi III. The project is part of the City of Lahti’s plan to halve CO2 emissions by 2025 compared to 1990 levels.

The new 170 MW bio fuelled heating plant will replace the existing 350 MW coal-fired plant, Kymijärvi I, which will come to the end of its technical lifetime in 2020. The new plant will produce heat for the district heating network of the City of Lahti and Hollola.

The new bio fuelled plant is designed in accordance with the best available techniques and will use certified biomass as its primary fuel. Kymijärvi III will also be equipped with efficient flue gas treatment to comply with the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive.

The design includes efficient flue gas treatment, heat recovery from the flue gas and treatment of condensate from the heat recovery. The heat recovery is estimated to improve overall efficiency by 10–15%. The project is expected to decrease CO2 emissions by up to 500,000 tonnes per year. Emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are assessed to decrease by about 600 tonnes per year.

Lahti Energia estimates the total cost of the heat production project at EUR 165 million.

Lahti Energia was founded in 1907 as a versatile energy company that invests in eco-efficiency and emerging technologies. Our products include electricity, district heating and cooling, natural gas, industrial process energies, as well as other services related to the production and use of energy. The company is owned by the City of Lahti.

NIB is an international 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
Sami Loukkola, Senior Manager, Lending, tel. +358 50 311 3698,

Mr Arild Moen, Senior Communications Officer, tel. +358 10 618 0496,