Use of peat in energy production in Vantaa will end in 2021

The use of peat in the Martinlaakso biopower plant will become history next year when a system developed for the management of combustion and corrosion will be introduced at the plant. Commissioned in 2019, peat at the biopower plant has accounted for about 10 per cent of the total fuel volume in order to slow down corrosion and fouling of the biomass boiler.

The old natural gas and oil fired power plant section of the Martinlaakso power plant was converted into a biopower plant in 2019. The fuels used at the biopower plant are wood chips, recovered wood, and by-products of the wood industry, such as tree bark and sawdust.

“ Phasing out the use of peat is a natural continuation to our climate work. By replacing the need to use peat for slowing down corrosion and fouling by other means, the emissions of the biopower plant can be reduced further,” explains Production Director Kalle Patomeri.

Circular economy fuels accelerate carbon-neutral energy production

Vantaa Energy’s power plants at Ojanko and Martinlaakso in Vantaa are circular economy plants that utilise materials of the circular economy era as fuels. These include mixed waste left over after sorting of utilised materials, as well as biomass produced as a by-product of the forest and wood processing industry.

“ The majority of the fuel at the Martinlaakso biopower plant is logging residue chips or stem chips. These are obtained from tree branches and stems collected from logging areas. We also use by-products of the wood industry, such as tree bark and sawdust. Recovered wood accounts for about 15 per cent of our fuel. It includes, for example, loading pallets and old cable reels,” Patomeri explains.

As a result of the commissioning of the Martinlaakso biopower plant in early 2019, emissions from energy production in Vantaa fell by a substantial amount, 210,000 tonnes, i.e. about one-third compared with the 2018 emissions.

Mitigation of climate change is one of the greatest issues of our time. Vantaa Energy has systematically sought solutions for cutting emissions rapidly and efficiently.

The first step was the waste-to-energy plant completed in 2014, producing electricity and heat from the non-recyclable mixed waste of 1.5 million Finnish residents. As a result of the commissioning of the waste-to-energy plant, the carbon dioxide emissions of Vantaa Energy’s energy production fell by 30 per cent while the use of imported fossil fuels in Vantaa was cut by 40 per cent.

Since the commissioning of the waste-to-energy plant and the biopower plant, Vantaa Energy has halved its carbon dioxide emissions in just a few years and reduced the use of fossil fuels by 60 per cent.

Further information

Kalle Patomeri
Production Director
Vantaa Energy Ltd
+ 358 50 529 4158
kalle.patomeri@vantaanenergia.fi