Extension of waste-to-energy plant in Vantaa proceeds according to schedule

Vantaa Energy’s project to extend its waste-to-energy (WTE) plant is proceeding in accordance with the original plan. The next step is to install the main equipment in March 2021. The plant extension is scheduled to be in use in the autumn of 2022. In the future, waste from trade and industries in addition to mixed household waste will be used for energy production in Vantaa. The WTE plant extension project is one of the steps that will enable Vantaa Energy to produce fossil-free energy as early as in 2026.

The waste-to-energy plant construction site is preparing for its first anniversary as construction work for the project kicked off in March 2020. During the year, earthworks and a waste bunker have been completed, and at the moment, foundations are being built for a waste boiler and a flue gas cleaning plant.

– A major step forward in construction will be the moment when our primary suppliers arrive to install the main equipment of the new WTE extension. At the same time, the construction of the boiler hall and other buildings proceeds. We now have approximately 100 workers on the construction site, and this number will increase to several hundred towards the summer, says Production Director Kalle Patomeri of Vantaa Energy.

Main equipment installation will continue until January 2022, after which the testing period of the new WTE setup begins. The plan is to fire the boiler for the first time in the summer and to start extension use in the autumn of 2022.

Vantaa Energy regards coronavirus infections as a serious risk. Specific guidelines are followed on site, and so far the pandemic has not impacted the project or caused delay in the construction schedule.

The reason behind Vantaa Energy’s waste-to-energy investment is a clear demand for a waste-to-energy plant focusing on the business-sector. At the moment, the waste generated in the Helsinki metropolitan area from of trade or industry is taken outside Finland, while at the same time fossil fuels are imported into Finland. The WTE plant extension will reduce the need of imported fossil fuels and is thereby a significant investment in terms of both the national economy and the environment. Another important reason to extend the plant is to secure environmentally friendly heat production with price stability for the residents of Vantaa in the future, too.

Together with the Martinlaakso bioenergy plant completed in 2019, this waste-to-energy extension project is the second plant that will enable Vantaa Energy to phase out coal as early as in 2022, and the project is an important part of the plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2026.

In 2021, Vantaa Energy is nearing a fossil-free future with two important steps: the opening of a geothermal heating plant in the Varisto district of Vantaa and the termination of peat use for energy.

After this, the next steps in the Fossil-Free 2026 investment program include extending waste management services to waste that requires high-temperature processing compared to normal energy production in 2024. In 2026, Vantaa Energy is planning to put into use world’s largest seasonal thermal energy storage and to replace the energy use of natural gas with synthetic biogas generated at the waste-to-energy facility.

For more information, please contact:
Kalle Patomeri
Production Director, Vantaa Energy
+ 358 50 529 4158
kalle.patomeri@vantaanenergia.fi