Construction of a power plant in Vuosaari is investigated

As part of the development programme aiming to increase renewable energy, we are investigating an alternative where the Hanasaari power plant is replaced by a power plant, Vuosaari C, which would be built in Vuosaari.

Using biomass and coal as fuel, the power plant under plan is the same size as the Hanasaari B plant which is to be replaced by it, i.e. its district heat output is about 410 MW and electric output about 240 MW. At the same time, a 12-km long energy tunnel to be excavated in the bedrock between Vuosaari and Hanasaari is being planned in order to transmit district heat for the needs of the entire city.

A diverse fuel mix

The power plant designed for Vuosaari will be using as fuel a maximum of 80% of renewable biomass with the rest being coal. The biofuels projected to be used are woodchips and pellets, and small amounts of field biomasses. The use of torrefied biomass is also possible. In order to guarantee secure supplies of district heat, the plant is also designed to operate with coal alone. The plant is designed to be equipped with a circulating fluidized bed boiler developed for biofuel combustion.

The power plant would consume about 1,000,000 tonnes of woodchips or approximately 600,000 tonnes of pellets a year. The plant would be located close to the Vuosaari harbour, which would enable utilisation of logistic connections by ship, lorry and train.

Provisions are made for carbon dioxide capture

Carbon dioxide capture and storage are now also taken into account in the design of the plant.

Carbon dioxide capture requires development of capture technology and the transport and storage infrastructure. At this stage, preparedness mainly means space reservation for carbon dioxide capture while possible implementation is still further in the future.

Power plant would be completed in the 2020s

The preliminary plan for the power plant, fuel logistics and heat transmission tunnel was completed in autumn 2011. More detailed planning has been launched, and the decision to build the power plant will be made in 2015. If the power plant gets the go-ahead, it will be commissioned in the early 2020s.