Construction, Energy, Good for Business, Investments, Latvia

The new cogeneration plant is built by UPB Energy for the company 4Energia, as Ilze Rosicka, head of the UPB holding's marketing and communications department, told LETA.

4Energia is planning to invest EUR 30 million in the project, said Rosicka.

The biomass cogeneration plant will generate electricity and heating of local renewable energy resources, using wood biomass (woodchips, sawdust, and bark) as fuel.

The cogeneration plant will have a high-pressure steam boiler and steam turbine with synchronous generator. The steam produced by the boiler will be transformed into electric power by the heat turbine and synchronous generator.

All the electricity generated at the cogeneration plant will be transmitted to the joint-stock distribution company Sadales tikls, whereas all heat energy generated at the plant will be used by a wood pellet production unit nearby.

"The industrial complex "Veckrogeli" is a large project important for the development of Kurzeme province. The cogeneration plant and the wood pellet plant will create 35 new jobs. All the wood pellets produced at the wood pellet plant will be exported," said 4Energia representative Toms Naburgs.

The project will be implemented, from developing designs to launching the plant, by UPB Energy in cooperation with other companies of the UPB holding. UPB has already implemented similar projects, for instance, a biomass cogeneration plant in Liepaja with 10 MW heating and 2 MW electric power capacity, said UPB holding's CEO Dainis Berzins.

Construction of the new cogeneration plant is already under way, and the cogeneration plant and the wood pellet production unit will open in the fall of 2016.

UPB holding, established 24 years ago, is one of the largest industrial corporations in Latvia that specializes in design, manufacture, construction, logistics, and service. The corporation has subsidiaries in Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain.