Energy, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Investments, Mergers and take-overs

"The Langerlo power plant project is a big step forward in our company's development. We have been on a lookout for projects like this for a couple of years already. I hope that by carrying out this project we are able to prove that sustainable use of biomass is one of the best ways to make use of existing energy infrastructure and a viable and solid alternative to whatever other renewable energy technologies," Graanul Invest board chairman Raul Kirjanen said in a press release.

Situated in the Flanders region of Belgium, the Langerlo NV plant has a capacity of 656 megawatts, of which 86 megawatts is gas-powered and 470 megawatts coal-powered.

A support measure has been assigned to the Langerlo plant in the form of green certificates to convert the coal burning units to wood pellet burning units. Working at full capacity, the plant will use 1.8 million tons of pellets per year.

The conversion of the plant that covers about 8 percent of the electricity needs of the Flanders region must be completed by fall 2018. The price and terms and conditions of the transaction are confidential. The investment into conversion of the plant is in the range of 250 million euros.

"I am glad that a capable investor has been found for this project who has strong expertise in forestry, production of pellets, logistics and energy alike. We hope that Graanul Invest is able to continue the project and bring it to a successful conclusion," said the manager of the Langerlo plant, Marc Rommens.

The forestry and energy group AS Graanul Invest is the biggest wood pellet producer in Europe now.