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Innar Kaasik, manager of the Eesti Energia renewable energy production unit Enefit Taastuvenergia, said streamlining the management of group units and the structure within the group, arising from the Eesti Energia strategy revised this summer, was one of the aims of the acquisition.

Kaasik said Eesti Energia decided to acquire the stake because the city government of Valka was interested in selling its minority shares. He added that Enefit Power&Heat Valka is so far the only production enterprise belonging to Eesti Energia that is situated outside of Estonia.

Eesti Energia acquired 90% of the shares in the Latvian company Enefit Power&Heat Valka in January 2011. In 2012 the company set up a biofuel powered CHP station supplying the town of Valka with heat. The CHP plant that cost 10 mln EUR to build has an electrical output capacity of  2.4 megawatts and a thermal output capacity of eight megawatts.

Upon the completion of the new plant the old biofuel and heating oil powered boilerhouses in Valka were assigned to reserve or left on standby to provide backup during peak consumption periods.

In 2015 the Valka CHP plant produced 14 gigawatt-hours of electricity and 21 gigawatt-hours of heat for sale. During the first 11 months of this year the plan has produced 14 GWh of electricity and 20 GWh of heat.

The plant buys the biomass necessary for its operation from wood chip producers situated nearby.

Eesti Energia also owns a similar CHP plant in the central Estonian regional capital Paide.