Energy, Lithuania, Port

Klaipeda geothermal power plant, managed by the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy, has been closed for a period of about 18 months due to various breakdowns.

Now will finally resume operation in mid-November, said the company's director Ricardas Vaitiekunas.

"We had set it in operation earlier but after some time things cropped up there that had to be fixed again. Now should have the plant working at its initial stage in a week's time."

Experts from Germany were invited to conduct a study of injection earth drills. It turned out after the analysis that one of the causes of the power plant's malfunctioning was clogged-up filters in its underground section. The drilling had to be made deeper in order to have the filters cleaned.

In the process of drilling, the cavity suddenly got filled with loose soil and this put off the renewed operation of the plant for some more time. Specialists also say that several heat pumps and tubes have developed holes there. It is acknowledged that the spoilages occurred partly due to lack of experience of the personnel and because of scarce funding for preventive work.

According to the director, the repairs cost about seven million litas, an equivalent of two million euro.

The geothermal power plant is to come back to life with a higher heat purchasing price, Vaitiekunas noted.

"We have signed an agreement with Klaipedos Energija company, and it is satisfactory for us. Our price is attached to the price of oil. If the latter goes up, we will also get more and if the gas price goes down, so will ours," said Vaitekunas.

During the heating season heat, supplied by the Klaipeda geothermal plant, used to amount to 8-9% of the total needs of the city. In summer, the share went up to about 70%.