Stora Enso Acquires Fortum's Power Plant, Invests in Renewable Energy at Enocell Mill
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The power plant at the mill will be transferred to Stora Enso ownership on December 31. In 1990, Fortum Power and Heat Oy (then called Imatran Voima Oy) bought the old power plant at the mill site and built a new power plant there as part of a mill expansion project. The new power plant includes a 100 MW solid fuel bubbling bed boiler and a 99 MW turbogenerator. The power plant uses bark from the pulp mill and residues from forestry operations as fuel. Its annual power production capacity is approximately 600 GWh, of which around 400 GWh is used by Stora Enso's operations at the mill site.
The day-to-day operations and maintenance of the plant are already undertaken by employees of Stora Enso and the mill maintenance company Efora Oy, so no personnel will be transferred in the change of ownership.
"Transferring the power plant to Stora Enso's ownership will facilitate development of operations as a whole," said Enocell Mill Manager Sauli Purho. The investment in renewable energy will enable about 85% of the fuel oil used in the mill’s lime kiln to be replaced by sawdust. The investment is expected to reduce the mill's annual fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions by 30,000 metric tons and energy costs by EUR 5 million. The changes required to the mill processes will be made during 2014.
"We want to make the mill's energy balance more environmentally friendly. The pulp mill is more than self-sufficient in energy, but purchased fuel is still needed for the lime kiln. Through the investment, Enocell Mill is taking a significant step towards being a mill free of fossil fuels," Purho added. Most of the sawdust used will be supplied by Stora Enso's nearby Uimaharju and Kitee sawmills.
