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Valtra introduces wood heating for Suolahti facilities

10.04.2006

Beginning next autumn, Valtra’s four-hectare factory area in Suolahti, Finland will be heated by wood. Until now the factory has been dependent on a heavy fuel oil burning plant, which will remain as a back up.

Valtra introduces wood heating for Suolahti facilities

Beginning next autumn, Valtra’s four-hectare factory area in Suolahti, Finland will be heated by wood. The energy source will be waste wood produced at the plywood factory. The producers of the raw material are local forest owners and contractors – in other words, Valtra’s customers.

“Our priorities for switching to wood heating were cost savings and environmental considerations. It is also an excellent solution since the producers of the raw material are local forest owners and contractors – in other words, Valtra’s customers,” says Pertti Haukkala, Plant Director.

The district heat will be supplied by Ääneseudun Energia Oy. The energy source will be waste wood produced at the Finnforest plywood factory in Suolahti, such as bark, sawdust and scrap.

The district heating plant currently produces 30,000 megawatts of energy. When the Valtra factory is connected to the network, an additional 9,000 megawatts will be needed. The additional consumption of wood-produced heat allows the district heating plant to produce more electricity, thus improving the efficiency of the plant.

The Suolahti plywood factory uses logs sourced from across Central Finland. Around 4,000 cubic metres of wood will be needed to heat the Valtra factory per year.

District heat produced from waste wood is a renewable energy resource. Trees capture carbon dioxide when they grow, thus helping Finland fulfil its emissions targets according to the Kyoto Protocol. Forest cultivation, harvesting and transportation also stimulates the local rural economy.

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