Take a look at 350 million. EUR: incinerates waste, produces heat and electricity

As Artūras Ketlerius, public relations manager of Ignitis grupė, explained to Delfi, until now, heat and electricity are produced only from waste as part of the power plant.

“Its electrical capacity is about 20 megawatts and its thermal capacity is about 60 MW. For the plant to operate at the total planned capacity, more than 90 MW of electrical energy and about 230 MW of thermal energy, it is necessary to complete the biofuel part, which consists of two boilers, ”he said.

Smoke from all three power plant smokestacks is set to start rising late next year.

Started in 2014

The start of the Vilnius and Kaunas cogeneration plants can be considered in 2014, when the Government recognized them as important economic projects for the state. It has been claimed that it should reduce the cost of heat production by about 30%.

In the same year, the VKJ place is planned. This is a 3.33 hectare part of Jočionių st. 13 on the plot.

According to data from the Real Estate Registry, the owner of all the land (85.24 ha) is the Republic of Lithuania, and its average market value is 11.76 million. euros.

On the plot you can find several production buildings, control panel, security, reception and storage of turbine oil, garages, boiler rooms, guardhouse, waste storage shed, etc. Several buildings are registered as in formation.

In 2015, a company called Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant was established, and the Environmental Protection Agency recognized its activities as permissible.

In 2016 the VKJ construction works contracts were signed. “The new waste incineration plant and joint technological facilities for 178.29 million. An international consortium consisting of the German company Steinmuller Babcock Environment, the Polish construction group Budimex and the Lithuanian company Kauno Dujotiekio Statyba will be built. At that time, the biofuel combustion facilities and supply infrastructure of nearly 150 million. The Polish company Rafako will build the euro, according to the announcement.

In 2018, the European Investment Bank allocated 190 million LTL for the construction of the power plant. loan in euros. At that time, another 139 million. It was provided by the Cohesion Fund of the European Union.

In 2020, the construction of the waste incineration part reached the goal. An Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permit was issued, the first municipal waste classified in mechanical biological treatment facilities was sent to the VKJ in October and hot tests were carried out, after which the heat supply was started to the residents of Vilnius. VKJ was connected to the power grid in February 2021.

However, in 2020, the Vilnius cogeneration plant terminated the contract with the Polish biofuel construction company Rafako. As a result, the completion of the entire project has been postponed until 2022 and the Poles are preparing to sue in the Stockholm arbitration.

It will reduce heat but not electricity.

As you know, cogeneration produces both heat and electricity. The heat produced in cogeneration plants is often used for district heating or industrial processes, while the heat from conventional power plants is not used.

According to A. Ketler, VKJ has been providing heating to the inhabitants of the capital since November last year. Thus, the new power plant has already been affected during the last heating season.

“The price of heating offered in the heating auctions was one of the lowest of all the producers, so it definitely allowed to reduce the heating bills for the residents of the capital. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that during the last heating season the adjustment works of the commissioning of the power plant and various design tests were carried out, so there was not yet a real and complete effect “, he pointed.

Indrė Trakimaitė-Šeškuvienė, communication director of Vilnius Heat Networks, commented similarly.

“VKJ has not yet been operating at full capacity, but only in pilot operation,” he said. “VŠT produces heat on its own and buys heat from the eight independent heat producers, including VKJ.”

“Most of the thermal energy for Vilnius residents is produced by the Vilnius cogeneration plant. About 70 percent. the heat that the city needs is produced here.

We do not calculate how much an independent producer can influence the price, nor do we have data on how much each household saves. Especially since, as I mentioned, VKJ did not work at full capacity this season and did not start working since the beginning of the heating season. Heating prices in Vilnius this season were lower than last year, which was mainly influenced by the efficient operation of the company. At the end of the heating season, thermal energy in Vilnius will be produced only from biofuels and waste, only the maximum demand will be covered by fossil fuel installations, ”he explained.

At that time, according to Jurga Eivaitė, Litgrid’s communication project manager, VKJ will not have a significant impact on electricity prices, as it will produce only about 1 percent. all electricity consumed in Lithuania.

“There are standard procedures for all power plants before they begin to operate in the electricity transmission system. The VKJ was no exception and took mandatory measures before operating in the electrical system. Physical activation and synchronization with the The system itself was carried out according to a previously agreed schedule and took several days, and the power plant started operating without problems.

The Litgrid electricity transmission system operator welcomes each new source of electricity generation that enters the system as it increases the stability and reliability of the systems. It is especially important that the new source appeared in the city of Vilnius, where electricity consumption is growing especially and local production reduces the load on the networks. VKJ is a good example of how a modern power plant can find synergies in the heating and electricity sectors and operate in a competitive market by ensuring safe energy production from municipal waste.

After the successful completion of commissioning adjustment works and the transition to stable operating mode, we observed how VKJ gradually entered the electricity market. We are currently seeing stable power plant operation. This shows that this power plant can offer a competitive price in the market, bringing benefits to the end user of the electricity, ”he said.

Mr Ketler added that the electricity produced by VKJ is sold on the Nord Pool exchange, where it can be purchased by any electricity supplier.

He noted that with current permits, the power plant could convert up to 160,000 tons of energy per year. tons of classified and non-recyclable municipal waste.

“In specific months, the amount of waste fluctuates, depending on the amount of energy produced and the orders from suppliers. Currently, waste is supplied to the plant by all the main municipal waste managers in the capital: Energesman, manager of a mechanical biological sorting company, EKO Recycling, Horeca Solutions; “Ecobase”; “Ecoservice, as well as the Utena Region Waste Management Center. We also have a contract with the Utena RAC,” he said.

No exclusive requests received

VKJ is being built alongside an already built municipal waste sorting plant.

It provides the opportunity to transport the necessary fuel over short distances, to install special transporters and thus reduce the flow of automobile traffic to the territory and minimize waste management costs.

Proper connection to engineering networks: Vilnius city district natural gas, electricity and heating networks. Adapted transport infrastructure: there is a railway branch, avoiding densely populated areas.

Appropriate solutions: the area is not within the limits of the protected areas or the NATURA 2000 network, it does not contain cultural heritage values. Energy production activities are allowed in accordance with the solutions of the Vilnius City Special and General Heat Management Plan. Close to consumers: building such a power plant alongside potential heat and power consumers is one of the key criteria for energy efficiency, ”says the new power plant’s website.

It is estimated that there are about 2 kilometers from the VKJ to the residential houses. “This distance meets all international requirements. The cogeneration plant will have the most modern and efficient smoke treatment facilities, so there will be no negative impact on the health of the population,” the website states.

Ketler told Delfi that the power plant had received no exclusive public requests or appeals since its commissioning.

“The power plant is modern and meets the highest environmental standards, so the surrounding people didn’t feel any difference when it started operating,” he said.

The interlocutor added that the power plant always responds to residents’ questions and operates as openly as possible; As a result, it launched an information campaign on the circular economy and encourages residents to actively contribute to the ranking. “Our data on emissions from the power plant are publicly available,” he said.

Will have 100 employees

According to Sodra, in May the VKJ had about 90 employees, whose average salary paid in April amounted to 2,971.38 euros (about 1.8 thousand euros “in hand”).

Kettler said the plant should employ about 100 workers in the future.

According to the report published in the Registry of Legal Entities of 2020, the average salary of the director of the company was 9,818 euros (almost 6,000 euros “in hand”), and that of experts and specialists (76 people) was 2,753 euros ( almost 1.7 thousand euros). Euros “in the hands”).

The CEO of the company is Mantas Burokas, who previously led VŠT.

The sole shareholder of the company is Ignitis grupė. 73.08 percent. The shares of Ignitis grup propiedad are owned by the Ministry of Finance and 26.92 percent. – retail investors.