Värtan, Stockholm: Fortum Värme, jointly owned by Fortum and the City of Stockholm, has announced inaugurating its new biomass-fired combined heat and power plant (CHP) on May 9, in Värtan. On commencement of commercial production in autumn, the company said that the plant will use forest residues and wood waste to produce District Heating for nearly 200,000 households. Daily consumption of wood chips, the company added, will be approximately 12,000 cubic metres.

The company revealed that the value of the investment project, launched in 2013, is about EUR 500 million, and added that the new power plant will reduce emissions in the Stockholm area by 126,000 tonnes per year.

Fortum Värme, the company claimed, is the first energy company in Europe to have the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Chain of Custody (CoC) certification.

Speaking at the inauguration, Anders Egelrud, Managing Director at Fortum Värme, said that setting-up the plant has been “an important step towards a sustainable energy system in Stockholm and in Europe”.

Karin Wanngård, Finance Commissioner of the City of Stockholm, added: “With the new power plant, 90% of Fortum Värme’s energy production is based on renewable and recovered energy sources. That is quite unique. Our goal is naturally 100% renewable production.”

Commenting further, Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Fortum, said: “High emissions and low efficiency of heating, cooling and electricity production are typical problems in growing urban areas. Together with the City of Stockholm, we are taking steps towards a circular economy by utilising biomass, waste and recovered heat from data centres in energy production. Biomass is a renewable, largely local and carbon-neutral energy source. Its use increases the share of domestic energy resources particularly in Northern Europe, and it is an important building block of a sustainable energy system and bio economy.”