New electric boiler at ESE-Energia power plant in Pursiala, Mikkeli, to produce competitively priced heat

A new 30 MW electric boiler has been commissioned at ESE-Energia Oy’s (ESE) Pursiala power plant in Mikkeli, Finland. The electric boiler investment is part of ESE’s carbon neutrality strategy, which aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable heat. Elomatic was responsible for both project planning and project management.

The new electric boiler was delivered as part of an installation comprising two power plant units and a district heating battery, and its district heating output accounts for approximately half the district heating output of a single power plant unit at Pursiala. The commissioning of the electric boiler enables the production of district heat from renewable electricity instead of combustion.

The new electric boiler uses electricity as its energy source to produce district heat for ESE’s district heating network with an efficiency of 97%. If required, its district heating output alone is sufficient to cover all the heat consumption of Mikkeli’s district heating network between approximately mid-May and the end of September. The production of electricity and heat using wood-based fuels will continue, but the amount of energy produced by combustion will decrease over the next few years. The use of peat as fuel for the power plant will eventually be reserved only to maintain security of supply.

“The new electric boiler will help us improve the competitiveness of district heating and significantly reduce the use of forest energy,” says Erkki Karppanen, CEO of ESE-Energia. Over the next few years, district heating produced with electricity will be an important part of ESE’s road map towards carbon-neutral energy production.

Elomatic was responsible for the planning and implementation of the project based on the EPCM model (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management). Elomatic oversaw project management, technical planning, site supervision and procurement, also in terms of bidding for a boiler supplier.

“Electric boiler projects of this type are significant steps towards emission-free energy production in Finland and Europe. Green transition projects are important for Elomatic and a key part of our business,” states Olli Schemeikka, Vice President, Process and Energy, at Elomatic.

The importance of the electric boiler investment is highlighted by the large fluctuations in electricity prices. When electricity is cheap on the electricity market, district heating can be produced at a competitive price. The electric boiler helps in coordinating the production and consumption of electricity as the highly fluctuating production share of wind and solar power increases. ESE’s energy production will become virtually emission-free in 2027.

The value of the electric boiler investment is approximately EUR 4 million.

Further information:

Erkki Karppanen, CEO, ESE-Energia
tel. +358 40 535 9999

Markku S. Lehtinen, Senior Vice President, Process and Energy, Elomatic
tel. +358 40 833 8959

markku.s.lehtinen@elomatic.com