In Sweden, the Stockholm City Exploitation Board has made a decision on land registration which means that the city's energy utility Stockholm Exergi AB (previously Fortum Värme) can proceed with the planning of a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Lövsta in the western suburbs of the Swedish capital city.
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Located a few kilometers northwest of the district of Hässelby where the existing Hässelby combined heat and power (CHP) plant is sited, Lövsta is an old landfill site that currently has a recycling centre.
Although plans to build a CHP plant at Lövsta have been around for over a decade, the new land registration decision made April 19 by Stockholm City Exploitation Board means that the city and Stockholm Exergi, an energy utility jointly owned by the city and Finland-headed energy major Fortum Oyj, can proceed with more detailed project planning.
Building a cogeneration plant in Lövsta is in line with the city’s plan for how the land is to be used. In addition, the new plant in Lövsta will be an important part of our and our shareholders’ ambition that district heating in the Stockholm region should be based entirely on renewable or recycled energy, said Ulf Wikström, Sustainability Manager at Stockholm Exergi.
The plans include building a district heating pipeline to connect the plant to the city’s district heating network enabling the phasing out of the remaining coal at Stockholm Exergi’s Värtan facility. The recycling centre would be moved to within the area.
Lövsta is the most suitable place for a new CHP plant. We have assessed many other locations, but none has the potential for Stockholm as Lövsta has. Now we can take another big step towards a sustainable and robust energy system by realizing the goal of heating Stockholm with only recovered or renewable energy, said Anders Egelrud, CEO of Stockholm Exergi.
Earlier there were plans to create a nature reserve in the area. According to the latest version, a nature reserve would be combined with the new CHP plant.
We are well aware of the plans for a nature reserve, and of course, this imposes demands on how we act and build in the area. But we would like to see untouched green spaces around our facility and that interest coincides with the reserve goals, said Egelrud.
A new cogeneration plant in Lövsta also makes it possible to decommission and demolish the aging Hässelby CHP plant and replace it with housing on its waterfront location. Built in the 1950s the Hässelby plant is in need of renovation but would not alone be enough to meet the heat demand for an expansion of the district heating system.
This is a big step on the way to a Stockholm that is heated without fossil fuels. This means that we can also phase out the use of coal in the city. With a new facility in Lövsta, instead, many well-needed homes can be built in Hässelby, near the metro and right next to Mälaren. This is positive both for the urban development of Stockholm and for the climate, said Karin Wanngård (S) Finance Council.
