Energy, Energy Market, Good for Business, Lithuania

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that on Tuesday it granted Vilniaus Kogeneracine Jegaine (Vilnius Cogeneration Power Plant) an integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) permit, which means that the facility meets the environmental requirements of Lithuania and the European Union. 

The group said on Tuesday the permit is one of the key matters for the CHP's operation.

"It clearly defines environmental limits, therefore, I can assure you that the company will seek to ensure that the power plant's emission levels are the lowest technologically possible, which is one of our priorities," Saulius Barauskas, the CHP's managing director, said in a statement.

The Ignitis Grupe project is funded from EU funds (up to 140 mln euros), a loan from the European Investment Bank (up to 190 mln euros) and the group's own funds.

The facility will process up to 160,000 tons of waste annually. The plant has an electricity production capacity of 100 MW, including up to 20 MW from waste. 

The group notes that electricity produced by the CHP will satisfied the needs of around 230,000 households, and it will also produce around a half of centralized heating energy for Vilnius.

In December, the EPA issued permission for Ignitis Grupe and Finland's Fortum to operate the 160-million-euro CHP in Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas, built in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone. It is set to be launched soon.