Finland-headed forest industry and energy technology major Valmet Oyj has announced that it will supply automation technology to Pori Energia Oy's Aittaluoto biomass power plant in Pori, Finland. The target of the company's Aittaluoto 2020 project is to replace the outdated low-efficiency power plant processes, decrease the use of fossil fuels in energy production, and meet the operational requirements of the industry in the area.
Pori Energia’s Aittaluoto investment, which needs to be completed by June 2020 in order to be in compliance with EU Industrial Emissions Directive, will enable an increase of the share of biomass fuels used as well as increase the overall fuel efficiency of the plant thanks to new heat recovery equipment.
According to a statement, the modernization will decrease the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the Aittaluoto power plant by 88 000 tonnes annually. Valmet’s automation will improve plant availability and emissions control.
Valmet’s delivery includes a Valmet DNA automation system, a safety system and an information management system with applications for emissions control and boiler performance monitoring. Additionally, the delivery includes system engineering, installation, commissioning, and training.
The existing Aittaluoto power plant already uses Valmet’s automation systems, and the two companies have cooperated closely over a longer period of time to develop Pori Energia’s automation level.
Integrating the automation system of the new biomass power plant seamlessly with our existing system will provide us with significant savings both in operating and maintaining the plant, says Matti Rintanen, Managing Director of Pori Energia.
The value of the order will not be disclosed although Valmet says that the value of this kind of automation system deliveries typically ranges from below EUR one million to EUR 3 million. The modernized biomass power plant will start its operation in the summer of 2020.
In February 2018, Valmet announced an order for a flue gas condensation and heat recovery system for the same plant.
I want to thank Pori Energia for their confidence in Valmet with this important project. I am especially happy that we have been selected to supply automation to all major bioenergy projects in Finland this year – in Pori, Lahti and Oulu. Our customers’ trust gives us a solid foundation to further develop our operations in the bioenergy sector in the coming years, said Olli Koivumäki, Sales Director, Automation, Valmet.
